A New Saviour
by AnGeL70
Summary: FF10-Shadow Hearts crossover. Wakka finds two men washed up on the beach. One is Tidus, but who is this other one? What are these amazing powers that he calls fusion? Maybe he isn't here by accident. What if fate brought him here?
1. Chapter 1

A New Saviour  
  
Disclaimer: I own neither Final Fantasy nor Shadow Hearts and you know who does.  
  
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*~*~*~*~  
  
Okay, I'm not sure who is really familiar with the game of Shadow Hearts so I'm gonna add in a little bit of info here. If you are familiar with it then go you 'cause it's an awesome game and you can just skip the next paragraph:  
Shadow Hearts is an RPG by Midway set in the 1900's and is the sequel to the game Koudelka. The main character, Yuri Hyuga, was born to a Russian mother and a Japanese father, who was also in the military. His parents were killed years ago. He actually witnessed his mother's death when some possessed townspeople came to eat them while his father was overseas. Yuri only remembers waking up covered in blood and everyone around him dead, including his mother. That was when the fusion powers he had inherited from his father had awakened. So now, at 24, he is known as a harmonixer just like his father, which is someone who can fuse with the souls of monsters. Yuri gains souls of different elements, 18 in total, three different levels of each element (Light, Dark, Earth, Air, Fire, Water) and then he even gains Amon, a non-classed and extremely powerful monster. At one point in the game, Dehui is invoking the Reverse Demon's Gate to summon the Seraphic Radiance, who is actually a god. Yuri attempts to stop the god before it destroys the world by fusing with it. The fusion is successful, but Yuri disappears for six months before the others find him again because the monster was too powerful for his subconscious. Although, he cannot use the Seraphic Radiance's power until he is able to awaken it.  
  
*~*~*~*~  
  
Chapter 1  
  
Yuri staggered for a minute as he transformed from the fusion monster Sandalphon back into his true self. He regained his balance and brushed his dark brown hair out of his eyes so he could see the others clearly. Alice had fallen to her knees, panting as she clutched her bible to her chest. Her blond hair was slightly falling out of the large blue bow that held it, but she seemed all right. Margarete, the spy also known as Malkovich, was out of breath as well. Her gun lay at her feet as she used the sleeve of her pinkish-gray trench coat to wipe the sweat off her brow. Zhuzhen seemed okay, but Yuri knew better. The old Adept was very sensitive about his age and was never one to admit that he might not be as strong as he used to be. Yuri noted how he was leaning slightly on his staff for support.  
  
There was no reason why the foursome shouldn't be tired however. Dehui had surprised them all when he managed to transform into the monster Yamaraja. They had already been worn out from the first battle, but they pressed on and finally defeated him.  
  
"Give it up, Dehui! We stopped your Demon's Gate thingie!" Yuri shouted at Dehui's limp body, now returned to its previous form.  
  
"I don't think so," Dehui managed to utter weakly. "If I can channel the rest of my power into this machine, then I can still power it up enough to summon the Seraphic Radiance!"  
  
"Even though he barely has the strength to stand, he is going to try to use the last of his power to fulfill his dream," Zhuzhen said sadly as he watched his old friend try to crawl to the center of the machine.  
  
"Shouldn't we stop him?" Margarete asked. Zhuzhen shook his head.  
  
"He fought, long and hard, but he has no strength left. I'm afraid that this is his time." Yuri snorted in disbelief as he went over to help Alice up. They just watched as Dehui gave up the last of his power before his body stopped moving completely. Zhuzhen sighed and bowed his head respectfully.  
  
Suddenly, a very unwelcome guest appeared. At a first glance, he appeared to be a very refined, English gentleman. But his crisp, black suit and top hat didn't fool the others. They knew he was a man with incredible power and evil intentions. The man walked over to Dehui's body and shook his head disapprovingly.  
  
"I should have known that Dehui would mess this up. However, I guess I should congratulate him a little on getting this far," the man said, almost mockingly.  
  
"Bacon! What the hell do you want? Do we get to kick your ass to?" Yuri asked, a smirk on his lips as she stepped forward, cracking his knuckles. The man calling himself Roger Bacon turned to Yuri and the others.  
  
"I'm simply here to give his machine one last push." Bacon smiled and raised his arms, his hands glowing.  
  
"Bacon! Wait!" Yuri cried, but it was too late. The machine was fully powered up. Bacon grinned evilly and disappeared. The ground began to shake and glow as it split down the middle. "Oh shit!" Yuri yelled as the other three stared in awe. Clouds filled the sky and the entire world seemed to be cast in darkness. The wind roared viciously around them, sending debris flying everywhere. The whole of Shanghai seemed to cry out as the ground split down the middle and a large creature emerged.  
  
"Is that the Seraphic Radiance?!" Margarete cried as it stretched out from its curled up position. They had never seen a being quite like this. A couple stories tall, it had the shape of a woman, but its skin was a scaly yellow with a red sheen. It's fingers and toes ended in long, sharp, red talons. From either side of it's head sprouted two large, red-feathered wings.  
  
From up above they heard a man's wicked laughter. They tore their eyes away from the monster to see Bacon floating above them, surrounded by some sort of protective shield.  
  
"Ah, a little less grand then I had imagined but I'm sure it will do," Bacon commented.  
  
"It will do? What is that thing going to do?" Yuri demanded.  
  
"Why, my dear boy, it is simply going to destroy the world." At that moment the Seraphic Radiance opened it's eyes that were blue and snake- like. The red-painted lips were just a false impression as its mouth opened all the way to its jaw line, revealing rows of sharp teeth. It let out an inhuman screech and the city around them began to burst into flames. Bacon smiled and disappeared again. Alice, Margarete, and Zhuzhen seemed too distracted by the terrible events happening around them that they didn't notice that Yuri was no longer around them. Finally, Alice turned to him, only to find him running straight for the Seraphic Radiance.  
  
"Yuri?" Margarete and Zhuzhen turned as well, their eyes wide with shock.  
  
"Hey kiddo, what do ya think you're doing?!" Margarete called after him.  
  
"No, he can't," Zhuzhen said quietly. Alice turned to him.  
  
"He can't what?"  
  
"I think he's planning to fuse with that.that monster!" Zhuzhen replied fearfully. Alice turned back in Yuri's direction.  
  
"Don't!" She screamed. Yuri tried his best to block out their voices as he raced towards the god. The wind helped a bit. They didn't understand. This was the only way to stop it.  
  
"Let's get friendly," he chuckled as he gave final leap. After a few minutes, the monster stopped it's attack. The winds died down and everything was calm. The Seraphic Radiance seemed frozen on the spot.  
  
"Everything's . . . quiet," Margarete said in a low voice.  
  
"Does this mean that the fusion was successful?" Zhuzhen asked, mostly to himself. But Alice had fallen to her knees, tears streaming down her face.  
  
"Yuri," she whispered. "Your soul . . . is fading . . . "  
  
"Yes, his soul is fading from this world, but I can help him," said a calm, yet unfamiliar voice behind them. The three turned to find a man who appeared very out of place. He wore a long, red coat, the collar covering part of his face. One arm wasn't through the sleeve and hung loosely inside his jacket while the other held an oversized sword. He wore glasses with black lenses that partially hid the scar over his right eye, and his black hair hung in a low ponytail.  
  
"Who are you?" Zhuzhen demanded, holding his staff in front of him. Margarete placed one hand protectively on Alice's shoulder as Alice took a step towards the strange man.  
  
"That's not important right now," the stranger said, not even looking at Zhuzhen.  
  
"Can you really save Yuri?" Alice asked hopefully.  
  
"I can, but if I do it's not likely that you'll ever see him again," the man said sympathetically as the blond girl wiped away a tear.  
  
"That's okay, as long as you can save his soul. Please, help him," she begged.  
  
"Exactly how do you intend to do that? The Seraphic Radiance may be silent for now, but it could wake up any minute," Zhuzhen said.  
  
"Y'know, he's got a point. But I guess we can hear your side of the story first," Margarete said, casting an involuntary glance behind her where the god stood.  
  
"Well," the man began. "This 'Reverse Demon's Gate Invocation', as I heard it called, was to summon the god Seraphic Radiance in order to destroy the world?" Alice nodded. "Unfortunately, it was also able to summon another kind of monster, only this one comes from the future." Behind them, the Seraphic Radiance twitched, it's hands clenching and unclenching. The stranger noticed this. "I am able to take this monster back to my time. However, in order to make sure it never comes back, I must close the portal that the Invocation created."  
  
"And you need to take the Seraphic Radiance with you," Alice finished sadly. "I understand."  
  
"Well, I don't. How will that help Yuri?" asked Margarete.  
  
"The boy you call Yuri is still fighting that monster from within. He is also losing. The god is being given power by the device that summoned it. If he is to have a fighting chance, he must leave this world."  
  
"Wait, there must be another way!" Zhuzhen protested. The strange man shook his head.  
  
"There isn't. The god is awakening and Sin approaches. I must take him now." The man then turned to where another huge monster appeared. This one was even more bizarre looking than the Seraphic Radiance. And they couldn't even see it all because it was half hidden in the waves that rose up before it. At that moment the man rushed towards it, holding his sword in front of him.  
  
"Is that . . . oh what did he call it . . . Sin?" Margarete yelled over the crashing of the waves. The others didn't answer. They were too busy staring at the Seraphic Radiance. It was holding its head, as if struggling internally and seemed to be making it's way over to the creature called Sin.  
  
"What's going on?" Zhuzhen called after the strange man, only to find him gone. None of them could explain what happened next. One minute there were huge waves, rain was pouring from the clouds and lighting struck the ground. And the Seraphic radiance was floating towards the water. There was a bright flash, like an explosion, and then in a split second it was gone. The sky had returned to normal and the sea was calm. And neither of the large monsters, nor that mysterious man, could be seen anywhere.  
  
"Is . . . is it over?" asked Margarete.  
  
"I believe so," Zhuzhen replied. "It looks like that man was able to take the monster from this world . . . as well as our friend." Alice shuddered slightly, trying to be strong and hold back her tears.  
  
"Goodbye Yuri."  
  
*~*~*~*~  
  
Wakka was strolling the beach, showing Tidus around. Wakka was a broad, muscular man with darkly tanned skin and red hair that stood up in a tall spike, held up by a blue bandana. He wore baggy, yellow pants, and a sort of yellow vest that left his chest partially exposed. Tidus was smaller that Wakka, and was wearing similar clothing, although they weren't from the same area in any way. His short blond hair stuck out at the sides and he wore black, leather shorts, and a short-sleeved top with a white hood.  
  
Wakka had found Tidus in the water near his village. As far as he could tell, Tidus had encountered Sin's toxin and had lost his memory. However, Tidus was a friendly, energetic boy so he decided to help him out.  
  
"So tell me more about this world. You say you guys are being punished for using machines, or machina as you call it?" Tidus asked him. Wakka nodded.  
  
"Ya. We must repent our sins everyday now in order to live a decent life. It's hard though, what with Sin's attacks and all," he replied.  
  
"Bummer. Hey, who's that?" Tidus asked.  
  
"Who's who?" Wakka looked to where Tidus pointed. There seemed to be a man lying unconscious on the beach. "Aw man, not another one," Wakka said as the two jogged over to the man.  
  
"Do you know him?" asked Tidus.  
  
"Nope. And he's even stranger looking than you," Wakka said as he crouched next to the man and rolled him over onto his back. "Hey come on, wake up." This man was strange-looking indeed. He had short, messy brown hair and an Asian look to him. He wore a long, brown coat, a fitted red shirt, and black leather pants. On his hands he wore white gloves and what looked like long, silver claws on his fingers.  
  
Wakka shook the man's shoulder, who seemed to be coming to.  
  
"Ow, my head feels like it's gonna split open," he grumbled as he sat up. He opened his eyes and looked at the two men beside him. "Hey, who are you guys? Where the hell am I?"  
  
"I'm Wakka, this is Tidus. You're on the Isle of Besaid. Who are you?"  
  
"I'm Yuri, Yuri Hyuga. Isle of Besaid? I thought I was in Shanghai. At least, that's what I remember." He looked around. Yuri knew that Shanghai was located by the sea, but he couldn't remember any sunny, tropical beaches.  
  
"It's okay buddy, I appeared here too and I have no idea where this is either," Tidus piped up. Yuri just stared blankly.  
  
"Okay . . ."  
  
"Come on, I'll take you two to the village. I'm sure you want to get some rest. I have to be getting back anyway," Wakka said as he stood up.  
  
"Hey, did you come into contact with Sin's toxin to?" Tidus asked eagerly. Yuri looked at him. This kid had way too much energy for his own good.  
  
"The last thing I remember was that idiot Bacon showing up and summoning the Seraphic Radiance. I tried to fuse with it and . . . everything else is a complete blank." Now it was Wakka's turn to stare.  
  
"Seraphic Radiance? Never heard of it." He said as he led the two down a dirt path towards the village.  
  
"Weird," Tidus agreed.  
  
"Hey, where are the others?" Yuri suddenly asked.  
  
"Others? We only found you," Wakka explained.  
  
"No, I was with Margarete, Zhuzhen, and Alice. I remember them calling my name. Where exactly is this place?"  
  
"Wakka says it's called Spira," Tidus said, trying to sound superior.  
  
"Spira? Aren't I still in Asia?"  
  
"Asia? Okay, you're crazy. That was hundreds of thousands of years ago. How about coming back to reality?" Wakka told him, chuckling a bit.  
  
"Uh . . . okay, now I'm confused. Spira . . . Sin . . . Besaid . . . am I dead?" Both Wakka and Tidus couldn't help it; they burst out laughing at Yuri's comment.  
  
"No, you're not dead. Maybe you jumped to the future!" Tidus joked. The three kept walking until they came to a small village. Yuri rubbed his eyes. It looked like something from a fairy tale. Everything was so colourful and, well, goofy looking. Definitely not the Japan he knew. Maybe Tidus wasn't crazy after all; maybe it wasn't the year 1914 anymore. Well, hoping to find some answers, and maybe his friends, he followed the other two into the village.  
  
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Author: Okay, anyone confused yet? Yes, this is going to follow the Final Fantasy 10 plot, I'm just going to change some stuff. All I can say is: please review 'cause I am incredibly insecure ^-^! Yeah, even if it's to say "Your story sucks!" at least I'll know people are reading it, right? Right? Oh yeah, and Yuna isn't going to be the focus! I'm actually gonna focus on Lulu a lot more 'cause she's my favourite FF10 character but I can hardly find any fics centered on her, so I guess you can tell where this is headed, huh? I can't help it, I'm a romantic. 


	2. Chapter 2

A New Saviour  
  
Disclaimer: I own neither Final Fantasy nor Shadow Hearts and you know who does.  
  
Author's Note: Yes, I am aware that a dark, gothic game and a colourful, fantasy game tend to clash, but please, bear with me. Also, I just want to point out that probably everyone under the sun knows the plot outline for FFX. So, if I get parts wrong, or skip important events, it will partially be because I haven't played in awhile. But it will mostly be because I'm pretty sure that no one wants to read a script of the game. So, now you know, events will change and may appear in a different order that they do in the game. But that's why they call this fiction ^-^!  
  
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Chapter 2  
  
" . . . And that's how I won the game!" Tidus finished, punching the air dramatically. Yuri was quite lost and it must have shown. Tidus frowned. "You're sure that you've never heard of blitzball?"  
  
"Like you said, I'm probably not even from this time period. Besides, it sounds kinda fishy to me. I mean, an underwater sport? Come on!" Yuri replied.  
  
"No, I'm serious! They even play it here!" Yuri sighed. Tidus had been talking non-stop since they left the beach. And whenever Yuri looked to Wakka for help, he got the whole 'you're on your own' look.  
  
"Well, it's true. Blitzball is the big thing around here. It's about the only thing we can enjoy these days," Wakka finally said. Yuri hung his head in defeat. He just couldn't understand this place. Tidus beamed.  
  
"See? I told you!" he said as they entered the village. "Ask anyone here. Look, those people are even doing the blitzball sign for victory!" Tidus pointed to two people who had their hands cupped in front of them and were bowing to each other.  
  
"What are you talking about?" Wakka asked. "That's how we show our respect to Yevon!" Now Tidus joined Yuri as they both wore the same confused expression.  
  
"Who's Yevon? Is he like the president or something?" Yuri asked. Wakka looked dumbfounded before he launched into a whole explanation about Sin, and Yevon, and the Crusaders, and everything else about Spira, including its average rainfall. Yuri was sorry he asked. Tidus was sorry Yuri had asked as well.  
  
"Wow, isn't that fascinating," Tidus said as Wakka paused to take a breath.  
  
"Yeah, really great stuff," Yuri agreed. Wakka looked from one to the other.  
  
"Well then, why don't you two visit the temple in order to learn more?" he asked them, raising an eyebrow. The two looked at each other.  
  
"Suuurre, why not?"  
  
"Good. My house is over there. Come by when you're done." With that Wakka walked off.  
  
"Way to go!"  
  
"You agreed too!" The two sighed and reluctantly headed to the temple. They actually found it to be quite striking compared to the village.  
  
"I feel more at home here than I do in that crazy-looking village," Yuri commented, taking in all the grand architecture. "I'm used to lot's of ancient shrine-type things back home."  
  
"Not me. Where I come from, everything is all mechanical. It's all very high-tech. Computers and robots run everything for us," Tidus told him.  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yeah, why, what's your home like?"  
  
"Well, things like trains are considered pretty high tech. I don't know, everything is pretty ordinary. Except there's a lot of talk of war 'cause the Japanese army wants to take over the mainland." Yuri replied. "So, what's a computer?"  
  
"Ugh, never mind. Hey, who do you suppose all these statues are?"  
  
"I dunno. Kings?"  
  
"They are the four High Summoners: Ohalland, Gandof, Yocun, and Braska," replied an old man from behind them. The two turned, a little startled.  
  
"What's a Summoner?" asked Yuri. The man looked at him, a little shocked. "What? What'd I say?"  
  
"Uh . . . We encountered Sin's toxin and our memories are a little fuzzy. And we're just here to . . . uh . . . remember stuff again," Tidus said quickly, elbowing Yuri in the ribs.  
  
"Ow! Uh . . . right, what he said," Yuri agreed, rubbing his side. The old man's face softened.  
  
"Of course, Sin, the plague on our world, the-"  
  
"Yeah, we already got a whole lecture on Sin and the evil that is machina," Yuri interrupted him. "That part of our memory is back. So what about these sunners?"  
  
"Summoners," Tidus corrected.  
  
"Whatever."  
  
"Well, a Summoner is one who has dedicated their life to Spira. They go on a pilgrimage across Spira, gaining the strength of Aeons on their travels. They will then summon the final Aeon and destroy Sin, bringing the Calm," the old man explained.  
  
"What's an Aeon?" asked Tidus.  
  
"What's the Calm?" asked Yuri at the same time.  
  
"My, you two boys are quite curious," the old man smiled. "Aeons are powerful forces that take a physical shape in order to aid a summoner in battle. The Calm is the ten years of peace that follows Sin's defeat."  
  
"Why only ten years? The thing is dead, isn't it?" Yuri asked.  
  
"Well, Sin is reborn to terrorize us again. The cycle will continue until we fully pay for all the sins that we have committed. Why do you think that we call the creature Sin?"  
  
"I see . . ." said Yuri.  
  
"What's behind that fancy door there?" asked Tidus, pointing. The old man turned.  
  
"That is the entrance to the Cloister of Trials. Now, I'll leave you boys to pray."  
  
"Pray?" Yuri looked around him. "Oh, right. Pray." The old man walked off.  
  
"Now I'm even more confused," Tidus said, scratching his head.  
  
"Hey, I dare you to go in there," Yuri suddenly challenged.  
  
"What? Why?"  
  
"Well, it's at the top of the stairs and like you said, it's fancy. There's probably something really cool behind it!"  
  
"I guess," Tidus said, a little hesitantly  
  
"Wakka told us to learn more. Don't you think learning about the Cloister of Trials is important to?"  
  
"That's true. Okay, I'll be right back!" Tidus said as he jogged to the stairs. Yuri smirked. This kid was a true blond. Yuri had overheard some people discussing it when they had entered and as far as he knew, only certain people were allowed in there. Apparently Tidus hadn't heard them.  
  
"What do you think you're doing!" someone cried out.  
  
"Only Summoners and their Guardians are allowed in there!" yelled another. Tidus looked a little flushed.  
  
"Oh . . . I came too close to Sin's toxin and I thought . . . uh . . . I was looking for the bathroom." A lot of angry muttering followed his statement as Tidus climbed back down the stairs and accompanied Yuri out of the temple. Yuri seemed to be trying to contain his laughter. "That wasn't funny!" Tidus exclaimed.  
  
"Shit yeah, it was!" he replied as the two headed back to Wakka's house. Tidus glared at him and pouted the whole way. When they returned, Wakka was talking to some other people from the village.  
  
"And you say she hasn't come out yet?"  
  
"Hey, what's going on?" Yuri asked. Wakka turned to him.  
  
"A Summoner entered the Cloister of Trials and hasn't come out yet. And that was quite a while ago," he told them sounding worried, before turning back to the other people. Tidus and Yuri looked at each other.  
  
"Hey, Tidus, these Summoner people are kind of important, right? Maybe we should help them!"  
  
"Aw, I don't wanna go back there!"  
  
"Come on, it's important this time!"  
  
"Alright, alright." The two glanced at Wakka, then slipped out of the house and headed back towards the temple. When they entered, they noticed that the people here seemed to have been informed as well. They were all huddled in little groups and were talking nervously.  
  
"Good, then they won't notice us," Yuri said as he headed for the entrance to the Trials.  
  
"You've broken a lot of laws in your life, haven't you? You don't even hesitate!" Yuri glared at him over his shoulder as the two entered. They looked around.  
  
"Aw man, puzzles! Damn it, where's Margarete when you need her!" Yuri growled.  
  
"Who?"  
  
"Crazy blond woman who traveled with us. She's a spy and knows all about this sort of thing." They weren't sure how they managed it, but they were able to figure out that putting the different spheres into different holes in the walls had different effects. Considering that neither of them is very bright, it's a miracle that they got through at all. Just as they were about to enter the final door, they heard Wakka call out.  
  
"Where do you two think you're going? I turn my back for two seconds and you leave! Did you know that only Summoners and Guardians are allowed in here?"  
  
"Yeah, we knew," Tidus replied as he and Yuri stepped through the door. Wakka shook his head in disbelief as he followed them in.  
  
"That doesn't explain why you're here," Yuri commented.  
  
"I'm allowed, I'm a Guardian!" Wakka informed them.  
  
"Obviously one who doesn't trust us to handle this on our own," came a cool, female voice from the other side of the room. Tidus and Yuri turned to seen two people waiting at the bottom of some stairs. One was a large, blue, furry guy with a broken horn in the middle of his forehead and dressed in a pair of faded pants. He had a pale blue mane around his face and wore quite a few feathers. In Yuri's mind he looked like a big, blue lion standing on his feet. The other was a pale, but stunning woman in an elegant, black leather dress with a fur-trimmed collar and the front of the skirt covered entirely in belts. Her black hair was held in a bun and fell in four long braids down her back, her bangs covering half of her face, and her crimson eyes seem to pierce right through them.  
  
"I do trust you guys, Lu, it's just that these two wandered in here," Wakka said, trying to convince her. She raised an eyebrow at him before allowing her gaze to wander over to the two strangers. Wakka followed her gaze and quickly introduced them. Then, just as he opened his mouth to ask about the Summoner, the door opened and a girl stepped out.  
  
She had chin-length, light brown hair and two different coloured eyes: one blue and one slightly greener. She wore a long, pleated, purple skirt, a white, sleeveless top that wrapped around her neck that was all held together with a yellow sash. On her arms she wore long, separate pink and white sleeves and on her feet she wore black boots. In her hand she clutched a staff so tightly that her knuckles were turning white.  
  
Both Yuri and Tidus just watched in awe as the young woman staggered for a minute. She suddenly lost her balance and fell. Everyone gasped and took a step forward, but the blue guy was the quickest and caught her effortlessly.  
  
She patted him on the shoulder and regained her balance. She looked at the others, her face shining with happiness.  
  
"I've done it," she said. "I have become a summoner."  
  
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Author: Good? Bad? So horrendous that it should be cast into the far regions of space where no one will ever have to see it again? Well, I'll never know unless you review! It makes me feel loved ^-^! 


	3. Chapter 3

A New Saviour  
  
Disclaimer: I own neither Final Fantasy nor Shadow Hearts and you know who does.  
  
Author's Note: Thank you so much to The Hunter, jilly, Vaurnut, and Dragonheart7373 for reviewing my story, it really means a lot to me. I didn't think anyone would really read it cause I noticed that the Shadow Hearts section on the site is a little empty. But thanks guys, it inspires me to press on! Oh, and to Dragonheart7373, I know that my writing is a little rushed. It's always been and it's one of the things I hate about my writing. But I will try to improve on that ^-^!  
  
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Chapter 3  
  
That night there was quite a celebration as everyone congratulated the girl, who the boys now knew as Yuna, on becoming a Summoner. And what she had done when they exited the temple amazed even Yuri as she called forth as large, red, purple, and gold, bird-like beast from seemingly nowhere. He just couldn't figure it out.  
  
Tidus came and took a seat next to Yuri, who was just staring at the night sky.  
  
"Never seen so many stars out before," Tidus commented. Yuri nodded. "Still thinking about this afternoon?" he asked him.  
  
"Yeah, I've never seen anything like that before. And I've seen a lot of shit in my life," Yuri said, as he turned to look at Tidus.  
  
"I know, it was amazing. I was kinda scared, but she just patted that thing on the head and off it went! So I guess that was one of those Aeon things that old man at the temple was talking about."  
  
"I guess so," Yuri agreed. "So what do you think-" Yuri stopped when he noticed that Tidus wasn't listening anymore. He was looking off towards Yuna, who was surrounded by admirers from the village. Yuri smirked. "Someone has a crush," he said in a singsong voice. Tidus turned back to Yuri, a faint pink on his cheeks.  
  
"No, I just think she's really pretty," Tidus said quickly. "And Wakka only just introduced us to them, it's not like we're good friends or anything."  
  
"Yeah, she's cute," Yuri commented. Tidus shook his head and looked back over at Yuna.  
  
"She's beautiful," he corrected him.  
  
"Well then, go talk to her!" Yuri said.  
  
"I can't, I wouldn't know what to say." Yuri sighed.  
  
"Stop being such a wuss and just go over there! Look, everyone's leaving her alone now, no one will hear you," Yuri encouraged. Tidus shook his head.  
  
"I can't."  
  
"Fine, then I will," Yuri said, standing. Tidus' head snapped up.  
  
"Wait! But, uh . . . Put in a good word for me?" Tidus asked, smiling in deafeat.  
  
"Yeah, yeah," Yuri said as he made his way over to the young Summoner. Yuna saw him approach and gave him a shy smile. Yuri plopped down next her.  
  
"Hello, Yuri right?" she asked. He grinned.  
  
"Yeah, that's me. And you're Yuna." She nodded. "That was a pretty impressive show you put on earlier," he commented. "I can't help but be a little curious about it."  
  
"You mean you don't know about Aeons?" she asked, a little surprised. "I thought everyone in Spira knew."  
  
"Oh right, I've been . . . uh . . . gotten too far . . . close to. . . uh . . ." For the life of him Yuri could not remember that excuse that Tidus had kept using. "Oh hell, I woke up on the beach here and I have no idea where I am," he told her. "I don't know anything about this place, but I am trying to learn. I know that you Summoner people, well, summon these things and how you're on a quest to defeat Sin, blah blah blah." Yuna giggled.  
  
"I've never heard it described quite like that before."  
  
"So can you tell me where those Aeon things come from?" he asked her.  
  
"Well, I must pray to summon them. Only then will they come to my aid," she explained.  
  
"But that one seemed to come out of nowhere. Is it a real live thing that follows you around like a dog and comes when you call it?" Yuri asked. Yuna giggled again.  
  
"When I pray, willing, faithful souls, called the Fayth, combine to make up the Aeon that I am summoning," she told him.  
  
"So that thing was made up of souls?" Yuri asked.  
  
"Basically," she said, smiling shyly. Yuri couldn't believe what he was hearing.  
  
"I guess some things never change," he said quietly. Yuna looked at him.  
  
"I'm sorry?" she asked. Yuri looked up at her and chuckled.  
  
"Oh, well, I was just thinking about how these things are made up of souls. Even though I'm not really from around here, my power is kind of the same thing."  
  
"Really? Tell me about it." Yuri thought a minute about the best way to explain his fusion powers.  
  
"Okay, well, where I'm from I'm called a Harmonixer. It means that I can fuse with different monsters that reside inside my body. When I need them, I just concentrate real hard and I can assume their form and acquire their strength and powers." Yuna looked a little confused, so he continued. "All the monsters that I've killed combine into one powerful fusion monster, that if I defeat I can fuse with it and assume its form whenever I need to. So my fusion monsters are also made up of souls."  
  
"That's amazing!" Yuna commented.  
  
"It is?"  
  
"Of course! I'd love to see it sometime."  
  
"Well, I think I'll be around a while since I have no idea where my friends are, so you probably will," Yuri said, winking at her.  
  
"Your friends?"  
  
"Oh, Alice, Margarete, and Zhuzhen. I was with them during . . . uh, this thing and I guess we got separated." He really didn't want to explain about a God being summoned to destroy the world.  
  
"I'm sure you'll find them," Yuna said encouragingly. She looked down at her hands. "You must be really in touch with the souls that aid you," she commented. "I mean, they not only help you, they're a part of you."  
  
"Well, you must be really in touch with those Aeon things to, or else they wouldn't come to you, right?" Yuri asked, smiling. Yuna smiled back.  
  
"Yes, you're right." Just then, more people came over to talk to Yuna so Yuri excused himself. As he looked back at her, smiling and laughing with the people, he couldn't help but be reminded of Alice. They were just so similar. Shy, gentle, caring. He wondered where they were right now. He wasn't sure if they were back in Shangai or in this strange world with him. Hell, he didn't even know if they were still alive after what happened. Similar thoughts swam around his head as he made his way back over to Tidus and sat down.  
  
"Well, what'd she say?" Tidus asked eagerly, snapping Yuri from his thoughts.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"You did mention me, didn't you?"  
  
"Oops. Sorry, I forgot," Yuri said with a sheepish grin on his face.  
  
"Aww man!"  
  
*~*~*~*~  
  
Yuri woke up in a very different place than where he fell asleep. As least he thought he had woken up. One look around told him that he was still dreaming.  
  
"Damn it, not this place again!" The sky was black, and a thin fog covered the ground. A broken, cobblestone pathway led to a huge pair of heavy, wooden doors and a rusty iron gate that was tightly shut. A crumbling, stone wall with one open gate from which Yuri had entered surrounded the whole place. And perched on mounds of grass were 6 large tombstones. Yuri uttered a long string of curses as he made his way over to the wooden doors. He was in the graveyard again. He stopped in front of the doors that were guarded by four floating masks: Grail, Staff, Sword, and Gold.  
  
"Hee hee hee, look who's back!" remarked the red Staff mask.  
  
"Nice to see another damned soul coming to visit us!" added the Yellow sword mask.  
  
"You know, I'm getting really, really sick of you guys," Yuri growled at them. "You keep summoning me here and I want to know what you want this time!" he demanded.  
  
"My my, such a temper," said the green Gold mask.  
  
"It wasn't us who called you here this time," the blue Grail mask informed him.  
  
"Oh yeah, then who was it?" Yuri asked, still incredibly annoyed. It was true, that when he usually came here it was because he had to clear the Malice that accumulated in his talisman. The talisman was a gift from his father, and one time the masks summoned him it was because they wanted to tell him that were going to get revenge for their fallen brethren. Aka, the many monsters that Yuri has killed during his life. The souls would collect as Malice and his talisman would change colours to indicate the level. From blue, to green, to yellow, and finally to red.  
  
However, if it reached its peak, death would appear and would not stop pursuing him until he came back to the graveyard and cleared the Malice by doing battle with some random monster. Thus, he would never be rid of this cursed place.  
  
It did have one advantage, though. When Yuri killed enough monsters of an element, they would combine into one inside those tombstones into a powerful monster that Yuri could fuse with. This time, though, he didn't have any fusion monsters to battle as he already had the highest level for each element. And he didn't come here willingly. So what did the masks want him for now?  
  
"In case you haven't noticed, that wretched talisman you wear has not been accumulating Malice," Gold told him. Yuri looked at the small pendent around his neck. Gold was right, the stone still glowed a dark blue, meaning there was no Malice in it.  
  
"Hey, you're right! Then why am I here?"  
  
"Somehow, our curse on you has been lifted by another," Staff said angrily.  
  
"Oh, really?" Yuri said, a smirk playing on his lips. "Gee, that's too bad. That means I don't have to come back here anymore, do I?" The Masks looked absolutely livid. "So who did break your wimpy, little curse?"  
  
"Why should we tell you?" Grail asked angrily.  
  
"It seems that since you are no longer in your world, our curse has no effect on the type of souls that roam this new world," Sword added.  
  
"Wait, you guys know where I am?" Yuri asked.  
  
"We do not. And even if we did, we wouldn't tell you!" growled Gold.  
  
"Our purpose of bringing you here is that we are being forced to give you a message from someone you know very well," Sword said, trying to get straight to the point. "The same person who summoned you here, even though he cannot speak to you directly just yet. The same person who broke our curse."  
  
"Apparently someone very close to you is still watching over you, and holds the key to this new world inside of himself. Although, he is not ready to relinquish it to you until you get stronger," Staff told him.  
  
"Well, tell me who it is!" Yuri demanded.  
  
"No," Grail said simply.  
  
"No?"  
  
"No," Sword repeated. "We will do no such thing. We are to only tell you that you are no longer cursed by us, yet you must keep coming back here in order to find the one who is watching over you. As you get stronger, so will he. And then he can pass down the power he holds to you."  
  
Yuri growled, knowing that this is as helpful as these stupid masks get.  
  
"Fine, I'll go. But just remember, one of these days I will kick your ass!" he said, turning to leave. The Masks snickered behind him.  
  
"Go! Return to your pathetic world!" they called after him as he headed back across the graveyard to the open gates.  
  
*~*~*~*~  
  
"Yuri, wake up!" Tidus whispered as he shook him awake.  
  
"Snuh? Wha? What's going on?" Yuri mumbled as he rolled over. He and Tidus had been sharing a room that contained two small, soft beds. Apparently, Tidus was still awake.  
  
"You were talking in your sleep. Mumbling something about masks and a graveyard," Tidus told him.  
  
"Yeah, I do that sometimes," he replied, rubbing his eyes. "So why'd you wake me up?"  
  
"Oh, well, you just seemed to be in a lot of pain, that's all," Tidus said. "I couldn't sleep anyway because Wakka and that Lulu woman have been arguing right outside."  
  
"Really?" Yuri jumped out of bed and headed for the door, pulling the cloth back ever so slightly. "So what's happening so far?" Tidus just looked at him. "What? I'm bored, I need some gossip!"  
  
"Well, they've been arguing about someone named Chappu. Apparently someone really looks like him, yet Lulu says no matter what it isn't him," Tidus said.  
  
"Ya, but, he needed help," Wakka said, pathetically trying to come up with a good reason.  
  
"Excuses again?" Lulu asked, glaring at him.  
  
"Ya, but . . . " This time Wakka was at a loss for words.  
  
"That's it, no more. Enough Wakka!" Lulu said angrily as she stormed off, leaving Wakka behind, speechless.  
  
"Man, she's scary," Tidus commented. "Wakka was totally at her mercy."  
  
"Yeah, but damn she's hot!" Yuri said as Tidus just sighed. Wakka hung his head as he began to make his way towards them.  
  
"Come on, let's get back to sleep before Wakka notices we've been listening." Yuri nodded reluctantly and climbed back into his bed.  
  
*~*~*~*~  
  
When the two woke up, they learned that Yuna would be starting her Pilgrimage, which Wakka explained to them in great detail.  
  
"So you have to go as her Guardian, along with Lulu and the blue dude?" Yuri asked.  
  
"Ya, and we leave now."  
  
"Well then, what are we supposed to do? We don't know where we are and don't know anyone!" Tidus complained. Wakka sighed.  
  
"Ya, I know. It's just that we must leave as soon as possible," Wakka tried to explain.  
  
"The let us come with you! We'll be a really big help!" Yuri said, clapping Tidus on the shoulder. Tidus brightened up.  
  
"Yeah, let us come!" Wakka wasn't sure what to say.  
  
"I don't think this sort of journey is safe for children," Lulu commented as she overheard the conversation.  
  
"Children? I'm probably older than you!" Yuri said. "Besides, you can never have too many handsome men around." Lulu was about to make another comment when Yuna approached.  
  
"I'd like them to come along," she said softly.  
  
"Why?" asked Lulu.  
  
"Well, they are really in unfamiliar territory, and I'm sure they could help us." She then turned to Yuri. "And we may find your friends." Yuri's smile broadened. Lulu didn't seem convinced but she didn't answer, only glared.  
  
"Then it's settled. We're coming!" Tidus said happily.  
  
"Then I guess we should get you a weapon," Wakka said, disappearing inside his house for minute. He returned with a sword that had a lone, blue blade that almost looked like water. "Tidus, do you know how to use a sword?" he asked.  
  
"Sure!" Tidus said as he accepted the sword and took a few practice swings. "It's great!" Wakka smiled.  
  
"It was my brothers. You kinda look like him," he told him.  
  
"You mean Chappu?" Tidus asked.  
  
"Yeah, how do you know about him?" Wakka asked. Yuri coughed.  
  
"Uh . . . you told us about him before," Tidus lied.  
  
"Did I?"  
  
"Uh . . . yeah."  
  
"Hmm, oh well. Yuri, I don't have any other swords, but I'm sure if we stop by the Crusaders tent they would give you one," Wakka said, turning to him.  
  
"Oh, that's okay. I've got a weapon." Yuri reached into his pocket and pulled out six, long and extremely sharp silver claws. "I usually fight with my fists, so I just use these like this," he informed them, holding the claws between his fingers. Tidus snickered.  
  
"Mine's bigger," he commented. Yuri punched him in the arm. "Ow!"  
  
"I've never seen a weapon like that before," Wakka said, admiring them.  
  
"Also, you have your fusion powers, right?" Yuna added.  
  
"You have powers?" Lulu asked doubtfully.  
  
"What, don't you believe me?" Yuri asked her. Lulu let out a small laugh.  
  
"I'll believe it when I see it," she said simply. Yuri grinned.  
  
"And you will."  
  
"Well, now that that's settled, let's head to the boat. It's going to take us to Kilika. Kimahri's going to meet us there," said Wakka as he started down the path, followed by Lulu, Yuna, and Tidus. Yuri hadn't moved, a little worried about Wakka's last statement.  
  
"W-wait a minute. We're going on a boat?!"  
  
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Author: Well, anyone who has played Shadow Hearts knows exactly why Yuri doesn't like boats ^-^. I tried to explain the graveyard and Malice thing as best as I could, so I'm sorry if it's a little confusing. Also, I tried to throw in a little more interaction b/w the characters. Let me know what you think! I'll love you forever! 


	4. Chapter 4

A New Saviour  
  
Disclaimer: I own neither Final Fantasy nor Shadow Hearts and you know who does.  
  
Author's Note: I just wanted to clear one thing up, 'cause I'm not sure if I explained it yet or not. Yuri's fusion monsters are all gonna be level 3, even though at the time of the Demon's Gate Invocation he would only have up to his level 2 monsters. Yet he's not gonna have Amon 'cause Amon is stronger than the level 3 monsters and technically he would want to use his strongest monster all the time, right? So that's just a little change I'm making. Also, instead o f having 18 different monsters, he's only gonna have the six level 3 ones, because he really doesn't need his level 1 and 2 monsters anyway. K, I'm shuttin' up know, on with the fic ^-^!  
  
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Chapter 4  
  
Yuri lay sprawled on his cabin floor, feeling completely awful. He'd been there ever since the boat left the dock. And no one really wanted to be near him at the moment.  
  
"Why must boats always ROCK so much!" he groaned, as he rolled over onto his stomach. "You'd think that at least one of the others would have the human decency to take care of me, but nooooooo. And after I proved how great I was on the way here."  
  
As the group had made their way to the dock, they encountered some monsters that were called fiends. Yuri didn't think they looked nearly as dangerous as the monsters he had fought in Shanghai, like giant, venomous spiders, or large, mutated toads with arms for tongues. And they were quite easy to beat, in his opinion.  
  
Tidus proved to actually be quite good with a sword as he was able to take out the quicker fiends. Wakka was the best at fighting the flying fiends, as he fought with a blitzball that he hurled at the enemy (which Yuri had found quite lame). Yuna mostly used white magic to heal the party, not bothering to summon her Aeons for such weak monsters. Lulu impressed him the most with her command over black magic as she cast various elemental spells to counter the element of the fiend.  
  
Yuri had decided not to wait and had rushed straight at the first fiend that crossed their path, his claws held tightly between his fingers. The others had simply watched as he took out the enemy with a series of quick punches and kicks. Wakka and Tidus complimented him, and Yuna looked impressed. Lulu, however, didn't say a word nor did her face change. Yuri guessed that she still wasn't happy with the fact that he and Tidus had tagged along.  
  
"That's it, I'm going to the deck to get some fresh air, it might make me feel better," Yuri growled as he forced himself to stand and staggered over to the door.  
  
Well, he was wrong, the fresh air didn't do much, but at least he wouldn't mess up his room if he had to throw up.  
  
"Hey, Yuri!" Tidus called when he spotted him. Yuri turned to see Tidus jogging over. "Why are you all hunched over like that? Not feeling well? You do look kinda pale," he said quickly. The sheer pace of Tidus' words were enough to make his head spin.  
  
"No, I'm not feeling well. I get a little seasick sometimes," he muttered, not really wanting to talk to anyone right now.  
  
"Oh. Anyway, I've been talking to a lot of the people on the boat and I've found out some really interesting things."  
  
"I don't really care," Yuri said, but Tidus didn't seem to hear him.  
  
"Do you remember those statues at the temple? The ones that the old man said were High Summoners? Well, apparently the one named Braska is Yuna's dad! Which means she's famous!" Tidus said excitedly. "So I went to ask Yuna about it." Tidus blushed slightly here. Yuri just rolled his eyes. "When her dad went on his Pilgrimage 10 years ago, Jecht was one of his guardians!" Yuri stared at him blankly. Tidus frowned at the lack of reaction on Yuri's face.  
  
"What's that look for? I don't know who Jecht is," Yuri growled at him.  
  
"Oh, right. Jecht is my old man! He disappeared from my life 10 years ago! Now I know where he was! Even though I still hate him . . . "  
  
"Whatever," Yuri said, clutching his stomach. All this talking was making him nauseous. Or maybe it was Tidus' voice.  
  
"Are you okay? You don't look so good," Tidus commented as Yuri fell onto one knee. "Ahh! Don't throw up here!" Tidus yelled. Yuri looked up at him and gulped. "Ahh! Don't SWALLOW it!" Ignoring the intense feeling of déjà vu, Yuri got up and went to go throw up over the side of the boat.  
  
After he was done, he just hung there for a few minutes, his arms dangling over the sides.  
  
"Having some problems, little boy?" said a voice from behind him. Yuri recognized it immediately as Lulu's. She stepped up beside him and looked out over the water.  
  
"Not problems per say, I'm just a little under the weather," Yuri said, looking up at her. She gave him a look that told him she wasn't convinced. He sighed. "I do have this one problem with boats."  
  
"Well, get used to them, because we'll be traveling across water quite a bit," she informed him. Yuri groaned.  
  
"Can't you just take plane? I can handle those." He immediately regretted that, for it brought back painful memories of when Margarete had chosen to fly a big, rusted heap of a plane and then ended up crashing.  
  
"What's a plane?" Lulu asked.  
  
"Oh, forget it. Hey, Lulu, why are you really talking to me right now. One, I thought you were mad at us, and two I could barf all over any second." She looked mildly disgusted, yet Yuri couldn't help but feel a little happy that he had gotten some kind of reaction out of the seemingly cold woman.  
  
"I am still a little angry, yet you two have proven yourselves. I just didn't want to have anything else interfere with Yuna's Pilgrimage. If we had to protect you two as well, it could have turned out badly," she explained.  
  
"So this is you saying you're sorry?" She chuckled, which actually shocked him a bit.  
  
"Partially. The real reason is because my curiosity had gotten the better of me." Yuri looked confused. "I'm talking about these powers that you mentioned. Yuna had briefly tried to explain them to me, but they sound like something I need to see for myself. Yet you never used them in those fights we had earlier with those fiends."  
  
"Well, I didn't really need to 'cause they were pretty weak already. Plus, it's kinda hard on my brain because it takes a lot of concentration to fuse with one of my monsters. It would really wear me out if I fused for every battle." Yuri groaned slightly and rested his head on the edge of the boat. Lulu had returned her gaze to the water.  
  
He took a minute to study her profile. She was indeed beautiful, unlike any woman he had ever seen. Her long, silky hair and those stunning red eyes. Her pale, soft-looking skin and full lips. She was really quite exotic looking. Alice and Maragrete had both been blond and blue-eyed, which was supposedly how all beautiful woman should look. Yet Lulu was the complete opposite of them.  
  
Before she had a chance to notice him, the peacefulness on the boat was shattered as someone yelled out "SIN! SIN'S HERE!" Lulu turned, alarmed, and quickly made her way to the front of the boat. Yuri tried to follow, but his condition prevented him from running. All anyone could see at the moment was a large fin protruding from the water.  
  
"Come on Lu!" Wakka yelled as he grabbed his blitzball and headed towards Yuna. Lulu followed, Moogle in hand, as the first wave of Sinspawn showered onto the boat. Tidus was already there with Yuna and he was trying his best to fight them off. Wakka and Lulu joined them and took out the remaining Sinspawn before another wave attacked.  
  
Yuri finally made it over, but the fierce rocking of the boat from the large waves that Sin was creating was not helping. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't concentrate enough to fuse. In fact, although he hated to admit it, he was completely useless at the moment. He could barely stand, let alone fight. He looked up and got his first look as Sin, or the part that was above water.  
  
"Yuna, quick, summon Valefor!" Lulu yelled to her above the deafening sound of the waves as she attacked a Sinspawn with a Thunder spell. Just as Yuna was about to, a large wave crashed onto the boat and knocked them all off their feet.  
  
One of the men quickly got up and, extremely panicked, ran for the harpoon gun at the front of the boat. He aimed it directly at Sin's fin.  
  
"Whoa, what are you going?!" Wakka cried.  
  
"I'm sorry, sir. Sin is heading directly for Kilika. I-I've got family there," he told them before turning and firing the harpoon at Sin.  
  
What happened next was all a blur for Yuri. At first, Sin was just dragging them along as Wakka and Lulu continued to attack it. The harpoon had a rope attached, which was tied to the gun nailed to the floor of the boat. But Sin proved to be too strong as it ripped the gun from the floor and disappeared underwater. Then he passed out.  
  
*~*~*~*~  
  
Yuri once again awoke in an unfamiliar bed. Only this time, a bucket had lovingly been placed next to him. He sat up and looked around, noticing Tidus sitting in a chair nearby. He appeared to be asleep. Yuri sat up and stretched. He felt much better now that he had slept off his seasickness. He decided to wake Tidus up and find out exactly what was going on.  
  
"Yo, Tidus. Wake up!" he said loudly, shaking his shoulder. Tidus awoke with a start and jumped from his chair.  
  
"What? What? What is it?" he asked.  
  
"Nothing. But I do wanna know what happened after I passed out. How did I get here?"  
  
"Oh, Wakka carried you in. We're on Kilika, but it seems that Sin got here first. The whole place was destroyed. Then they asked Yuna to do something called a Sending, but we were able to rest first as they prepared the bodies, whatever that means," Tidus told him sadly, bowing his head. Yuri immediately turned and stepped out of the small hut. One look around confirmed Tidus' story. The place looked like a hurricane had hit. The small wooden huts and docks were surrounded by debris, and most of them were in pieces. Yuri spotted everyone standing on one of the docks, staring out at the ocean. He headed over there, Tidus right behind him.  
  
The water was filled with large objects wrapped in red cloth, flowers placed on each one. The shapes told him they were bodies. He couldn't believe how many had died. That's when he noticed that Yuna was stepping onto the water and walking on its surface.  
  
"What's going on?" he whispered to Lulu.  
  
"Summoners perform the Sending to help the souls of the dead pass on to the Farplane. If they do not move on, they become fiends," she told them, not taking her eyes off Yuna. Tidus involuntarily shivered. Yuna began to do a sort of dance, moving her staff over the dead. As she did, balls of multi-coloured light began to rise from the water and dance with her. Yuri noticed that the lights were the same that emerged from a fiend when it was killed.  
  
"Look at her," Tidus whispered. "I've never seen anyone with so much sadness in their eyes." Yuri nodded solemnly. He had never seen a dance such as this, one so full of sorrow. Wakka had his head bowed, and although Lulu's face was characteristically impassive, he could see the tears forming in the corners of her eyes. He then bowed his head as well as Yuna continued to dance.  
  
*~*~*~*~  
  
Once everyone was ready, the group was finally able to head through the jungle to reach the temple where Yuna could acquire another Aeon. They encountered fiends as they followed the winding trails, yet they were almost as weak as the ones in Besaid so nobody had a hard time making it through. Kimahri had also met up with them and was an extremely skilled fighter; using his Lancet ability to learn the fiends attacks, although he didn't talk much. They finally reached a large stone staircase.  
  
"The temple is just at the top of these stairs," Wakka said, trying to sound cheerful. Yuri groaned.  
  
"I also recall you saying 'the temple is just through this jungle'," he said, doing a perfect imitation of Wakka. Yuna giggled, but quickly tried to hide it as Wakka turned to her, a look of mock betrayal on his face. Even Lulu let out a small smile.  
  
"Well, this time I'm right, so quit complaining," Wakka retorted.  
  
"But we're so tired!" Tidus whined. Wakka just threw up his hands and began to make his way up the stairs. Yuna giggled again and followed him, Kimahri right behind her. Yuri and Tidus both smirked as they too began to climb the long staircase.  
  
"You two are worse than children," Lulu groaned as they walked. They both put on innocent faces, or what they thought looked innocent.  
  
"You're right Lu, maybe we should have left them back in the village," Wakka joked. Lulu just shook her head.  
  
"It's not like you're any better," she said. Wakka stopped dead in his tracks, his mouth hanging open.  
  
"You're supposed to be on my side!" he whined.  
  
"See?" she said, as she turned away and kept walking. Tidus and Yuri just stood there, trying to contain their laughter.  
  
"Don't say a word," Wakka warned as the three hurried to catch up with the rest. Soon the stairs stopped and there was a flat circle made of the same stones as the stairs.  
  
"Finally, we made it!" Yuri said. "Could those stairs have been any longer?"  
  
"Yes they can, because they continue over there," Lulu said pointing. The area where they were standing was only the halfway point.  
  
"I give up. It's too hot, I'm too tired, and I'm starting to get really hungry," Tidus said, sitting on the ground.  
  
"Come on, we're almost there," Yuna said encouragingly, turning to face him, a shy smile on her face. That did it. Tidus was up and heading for the stairs. But before he could reach them, the ground had started to shake and a large fiend emerged from the ground.  
  
"Sinspawn!" Wakka yelled as he, Lulu, and Kimahri all got ready for battle in less than a second. Tidus and Yuri took a little longer before they realized exactly what was going on. The creature's main body was located a little farther away and on either side of it rose two tentacles that protected its body from their attacks.  
  
"Take that!" Wakka yelled as he and Kimahri both attacked one of the tentacles from either side. It broke and fell limply to the ground, but as soon as it disappeared another one grew in it's place.  
  
"This isn't working!" Lulu yelled to them. "We have to kill its body, yet the tentacles are protecting it! They even absorb my magic!" She tried to send another Fire at the creature's body, yet it never reached it. Yuri stopped his attack on the other tentacle. This creature was much stronger than the fiends that they had encountered so far.  
  
"Well, that just means I'll have to up the ante here, now won't I?" Yuri said to himself. He stepped back from the others, not wanting the creature to attack him in his moment of weakness.  
  
Yuri closed his eyes and searched within himself, for the monsters that dwelled within him. He silently called for them. He could feel it coming, combining with his mind and body. The pain was subtle at first, but grew as he became one with the monster. He clutched his head and screamed. This got everyone's attention. They turned in time to see a bright light where Yuri stood. It was gone in a split second, but what stood there was not the young man they had gotten to know. Instead, in front of them stood a demon.  
  
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Author: Yeah, I know, I'm evil. He finally uses his fusion and I stop! I dunno, I just couldn't think of another good place to leave it. And I'm sorry that this chapter was a little shorter, but hopefully was just as good. Let me know what you think! If reading a basic plot of FFX is getting a little boring, let me know and I'll try to skip over the less important events, or make them brief. Or just let me know your thoughts in general! Whatever it is, I wanna hear it. Thanks ^-^! 


	5. Chapter 5

A New Saviour  
  
Disclaimer: I own neither Final Fantasy nor Shadow Hearts and you know who does.  
  
Author's Note: I will be passing over the more menial parts of the story like the blitzball games and those little conversations 'cause they're really not that important and are sort of boring to read. So please don't mistake that for me rushing the story along, 'cause I'll still be mentioning them, I just won't describe every little thing in great detail.  
  
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Chapter 5  
  
The creature had the basic shape of a man, yet it's skin was like black, dried out flesh. The face grinned like a skull and two glowing, hollow eyes stared out at them. Large, black, leathery wings spread out behind it as the creature motioned with a sinewy, clawed hand for the others to step away from the Sinspawn.  
  
They weren't exactly sure how to react for little did they know that they were staring at the bringer of death himself: Czernbog. They just stared, mouths wide open as it brought its hands in close to its chest, as if gathering energy. Just as the Sinspawn was about to launch an attack, its hands began to glow and it spread it arms before it, a living darkness forming above the creature's outstretched hands. Before the Sinspawn had a chance to react, the deadly darkness rained down upon it, like meteors. When the dust settled, the monster was already dead, leaving only the fading balls of light. The group stood in awe. They had never seen such power, except maybe from an Aeon. And this horrifying creature was no Aeon.  
  
The same bright light appeared around the creature and was gone again, leaving a slightly dazed Yuri. He staggered a minute before regaining his balance and focus.  
  
"Man, that really does take a lot out of you," he mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Everyone okay?" he asked as he looked around. They all just stared at him with mixed expressions. Yuri couldn't tell if they were happy, relieved, confused, anything. In fact, he almost thought that they were afraid of him. But that couldn't be it. Could it? Yes, it was true. Kimahri had even stepped protectively in front of Yuna, his lance held ready in front of him. Finally, after what seemed like forever, someone broke the silence.  
  
"I-I-it's really you, r-r-right Yuri?" Tidus asked, the fear evident in his voice.  
  
"What are you talking about? Of course it's me!" Yuri said, slightly angry. He was used to this kind of reaction when somebody first witnessed his fusion, but he never expected it from people who could wield magic and summon monsters themselves. Yuna finally stepped forward.  
  
"So you control the monster, right? It doesn't control you?" she asked timidly.  
  
"Well, yeah. I am always in control. They're inside of me, and I call them, it's not the other way around." Yuri looked around. They still didn't seem convinced. "You know, before you guys couldn't wait to see my fusion. Now you all act as if I'm somebody different. I'm still the same guy I was two hours ago!" he said, getting a little angry.  
  
"Ya, but, you never said that . . . you're monsters were so . . . evil looking," Wakka managed to say.  
  
"I called them monsters! What did you expect? Cute, little kittens? Besides, what does it matter what they look like? Obviously one shot of Czernbog's Revelation was enough to destroy the Sinspawn that you all seemed to be having so much trouble with!" He really couldn't believe what he was hearing.  
  
"We're sorry Yuri, but you just kind of caught us off guard. I guess that your powers are something that can't be explained; only witnessed. And we weren't really sure what to expect. I'm sure once we all get over the initial shock of it, we'll get used to you changing so much," Lulu said, trying to reassure him. Yuri calmed down a bit.  
  
"She's right, and I'm sorry to," Yuna added. "I still think it's great that you can share a mind and a body with your spirits. And you said you have more than the one that we just saw? What did you call it?"  
  
"Yeah, that was my Dark monster, Czernbog. I have 5 more for the other elements."  
  
"So your monsters are element based? That sounds a lot like your spells, Lu," Wakka said, trying to sound cheerful again. Lulu nodded. Yuri had thought about his last statement. He would have 6 more monsters if he had been stronger and was able to successfully fuse with the Seraphic Radiance. He cursed under his breath for being so weak.  
  
"Well, I guess we should get going then, huh?" Tidus asked. "Yeah, that was great Yuri, your monster was really strong. Or was it you?" Yuri sighed. How many times did he have to tell him?  
  
"I assume their form, but it's still me inside."  
  
"Remember when he warned us to get out of the way? Obviously Yuri was still himself and didn't want us to get hurt," Yuna told him, smiling at him. Yuri was glad that she wasn't frightened anymore.  
  
"Sure. Yeah. Okay. But it's still really strong! Why don't you just fuse all the time?"  
  
"Tidus, why would I kill myself to fuse for every little fiend that comes along?"  
  
"Why? Does it hurt?" Tidus asked, his curiosity overcoming his fear.  
  
"Because becoming something else takes a lot of concentration and is hard on the mind," Lulu interrupted as Yuri let out an exasperated sigh.  
  
"How do you know?" Tidus asked.  
  
"He told me," she said simply before turning away from Tidus and following Wakka, Yuna, and Kimahri up the remaining steps towards the temple. Tidus was quick to follow, but as Yuri trailed behind them he couldn't help but think if this was going to have an effect later on. They obviously saw him differently, no matter how much they denied it.  
  
*~*~*~*~  
  
After two bothersome encounters with a rival blitzball team and another Summoner named Dona, they were finally able to enter the Cloister of trials. Yuna had decided right then and there that Yuri and Tidus should officially become her guardians after realizing that they couldn't enter the trials with them. They both agreed eagerly, even with some disapproving looks from Wakka and Lulu.  
  
Yuna had obtained another Aeon and the group had no more business in Kilika. Of course, they stayed a while and helped the villagers while the crew got the boat ready. After they boarded (much to Yuri's disappointment), they set sail for Luca for the blitzball tournament.  
  
*~*~*~*~  
  
"Wow! Would you look at this place?" Tidus exclaimed as they neared Luca harbor. Yuri lifted his head off the railing to try and get a good look, but it wasn't long before he had to throw up again. "This is amazing! It almost reminds me of Zanarkand!"  
  
"Where?" Yuri managed to ask between hiccups.  
  
"I'm from the city of Zanarkand, didn't I tell you? The place run by machines?"  
  
"Oh yeah."  
  
The boat docked and everyone got off quickly, eager for the tournament that was about to take place. Wakka had explained to him that his team, the Besaid Aurochs, were going to be playing. Yet apparently they had never won a game.  
  
"That's all gonna be different this year," Wakka commented, looking at Tidus.  
  
"I can't wait to play!" Tidus exclaimed. Yuri just groaned. Yuna, noticing his discomfort, approached him.  
  
"Yuri, I learned a new spell on the way over here called Cure. It might make you feel better," she offered. Yuri looked up at her.  
  
"At this point I'd be willing to try anything," he mumbled. Yuna smiled and got out her staff to perform the spell. Yuri felt instantly refreshed. "Hey! I feel great! Thanks!"  
  
"I guess it's more of an apology to how we treated you before. That reaction wasn't polite at all and-". Yuri held up his hand before she could finish.  
  
"Forget it, I'm used to it," he said, grinning. Before the group could head to the stadium they had to greet Maester Mika as he came ashore, an elderly man with a snow-white beard and hair.  
  
"What's a Maester?" Yuri asked. Just as Wakka opened his mouth to give what would no doubt be a very detailed explanation, Lulu interrupted him.  
  
"In short, he's the ruler of the world," she said. Yuri looked confused.  
  
"What world? This world? Like, everything?" he asked, dumbfounded.  
  
"Why is that so hard to believe?" Wakka asked.  
  
"I dunno. I guess I just can't understand how one person could be in charge of everything. Where I'm from, each country had a leader, that sort of thing." Another man followed Maester Mika off the ship and everyone greeted him as well. He was younger, with deep, purple eyes and bright blue hair in a style that seemed to defy gravity. Yuri heard him greeted as Maester Seymour.  
  
"So he rules the world to?" Yuri whispered to Lulu.  
  
"He is like the second in command," she whispered back. Yuri watched Seymour as he made his way by, noticing how the Maester's eyes seemed to linger on Yuna. Tidus seemed to notice as well as his eyes were narrowed.  
  
There was a lot of confusion as the group tried to head for the blitzball stadium, and when they finally got there they noticed that Yuna had gone missing.  
  
"Great, where'd she wander off to? The game starts in about twenty minutes!" Wakka said, tension in his voice.  
  
"I'll go find her!" Tidus immediately volunteered.  
  
"We don't need a little boy like yourself getting lost as well. You don't know you're way around here," Lulu commented. "I will accompany you." Yuri laughed.  
  
"I may as well come to," he said.  
  
"Kimahri find Yuna," the big, blue Ronso spoke up.  
  
"Well, try to be back before game time, 'cause you still gotta play with us, ya?" Wakka told Tidus as the four of them went off in search of the young Summoner.  
  
*~*~*~*~  
  
They began their search in the crowded streets, but soon realized that it was like finding a needle in a haystack. The group began to ask the many vendors and shopkeepers if they had seen Yuna. Finally, in a small pub, someone recognized her description.  
  
"Yeah, she was in here about twenty minutes ago. Looking for a man named Auron," the man behind the counter told them.  
  
"Auron?!" Tidus asked in surprise. "What would he be doing here?"  
  
"You know him?" asked Yuri.  
  
"Come one, let's go," Lulu said as they four left the pub in the direction that the man pointed them in. It wasn't long before some strange little robots attacked them. They proved to be worth very little effort.  
  
"Ancient Machina that have been salvaged by the Al Bhed," Lulu explained as she cast a thunder spell on the nearest one. The robot short- circuited and fell apart.  
  
"But Wakka said that these kinda things aren't allowed," Tidus said as he ran towards one and thrust his sword into it's middle.  
  
"That's why the Al Bhed are hated by most. They still use Machina and some believe that is why Sin still plagues us. They are betraying the teachings of Yevon," replied Lulu.  
  
"Oh yeah, I remember him bitching about those Al Bhed people during one of his lectures," Yuri added, trying his best to fight off one of them. Kimahri ran up behind it and sliced it into pieces with his lance. "He really doesn't like them."  
  
"Come on, we gotta find Yuna!" Tidus said as they group headed on. They encountered many more Machina attacks on the way.  
  
"Where are all these little bastards coming from?" Yuri exclaimed as he destroyed one.  
  
"I don't know. It's almost as if they don't want us to come this way- " Lulu stopped, her eyes wide.  
  
"What is it?" Yuri asked.  
  
"I just remembered. Wakka's first game is against the Al Bhed Psyches. What if they kidnapped Yuna in an attempt to make him throw the game?"  
  
"Well, I'm not gonna let them get away with that!" Tidus growled, his face completely serious. They continued on, finally making their way onto an Al Bhed ship where a huge Machina immediately attacked them. Lulu continued to hit it with thunder spells, yet they didn't seem to be as effective against a machine of this size.  
  
"Hey Yuri, now would be a good time to become a monster!" Tidus called over after he took a few unsuccessful swings against the machine as it continued to rain down attacks on them. Yuri's eye twitched as he forced himself to keep back a sarcastic comment about Tidus' original reaction to his fusion, and thought a minute. He decided that his wind monster, Seravi, would be the best choice as it attacked with lightning-type attacks. He remembered how the Machina seemed really vulnerable to Lulu's thunder attacks. A bright flash of light and suddenly Yuri was replaced with a large yellow and green bird-like creature that seemed to have no eyes and an extremely sharp beak. It's scaly, yellow feet ended in two deadly looking claws, and it hovered a few feet off the ground.  
  
Lulu and Kimahri didn't react as badly this time, but they couldn't help but throw some odd looks at this strange creature. Tidus wasn't as scared this time, but the giant bird next to him was making him a little nervous. Seravi gathered up energy, folding its wings around its body. It then released it all in one intense shock wave that caused the Machina to explode on impact. The bird floated elegantly to the ground and in a flash of light, Yuri stood in its place.  
  
"Wow! What do you call that attack?" Tidus asked.  
  
"Shock Barrage," Yuri answered, not really paying attention to Tidus. Lulu and Kimahri were looking in the same direction. The explosion had caused many Al Bhed to swarm onto the deck where the foursome had been fighting. Then a familiar brunette made her way through the crowd of Al Bhed towards them.  
  
"Yuna!" Tidus exclaimed.  
  
"What are you four doing here?" she asked.  
  
"What? We came to rescue you because you've been kidnapped by these crazy people so they can win a blitzball game!" Yuri blurted out. Yuna smiled.  
  
"Is that what you think?" came a deep voice from behind them. Another man stepped beside Yuna. He was clearly an Al Bhed, yet she didn't seem the least bit afraid. Tidus immediately got into a fighting stance.  
  
"What did you expect when Yuna disappears, we're attacked by Machina, and Wakka's team is playing the Al Bhed Psyches first?" Lulu asked, narrowing her eyes. The man laughed.  
  
"Everyone, this is Cid, my uncle," Yuna said quietly. They just stared, wide-eyed. Yuna explained how her mother was an Al Bhed and she begged them not to tell Wakka.  
  
"I guess that'd make sense considering he hates them so much. And if he found out you were half Al Bhed he wouldn't like it, right?" Yuri asked. Yuna nodded.  
  
"You still haven't explained why you kidnapped her!" Tidus said, still glaring at Cid.  
  
"Relax, we didn't kidnap her. She just happened to find her way over here and we were having a little family reunion." Tidus didn't look convinced. Finally, Lulu broke the silence.  
  
"We should be getting back to the stadium. Wakka is worried sick and we need to let him know that Yuna's okay." The others nodded and followed her back to the stadium.  
  
*~*~*~*~  
  
To everyone's amazement, the Aurochs had won, 3-2. Next up was the game against their archrival: the Luca Goers. Wakka was very happy to see Yuna was okay, but was happier that Tidus was back on time so that he could join in. The game was quite intense. Yuri watched, amazed, as he got his first look at how the game was played.  
  
"I just can't figure it out. You'd think they'd be drowning in there or something," he kept muttering to himself as the crowd around them cheered. Lulu looked over and saw his puzzled expression.  
  
"Try not to think about it so much and just enjoy the game," she said. Yuri nodded and grinned. Their enjoyment was cut short, however, as the cheers of the crowd changed to screams of terror. Without warning, hundreds of fiends began pouring into the stadium from every entranceway. The crowd became a panicked mob as everyone tried desperately to escape. Wakka and Tidus made their way out of the Sphere, grabbed their weapons, and tried their best to fight them off. Lulu, Kimahri, and Yuri sprang right into action to help the other people around them get out safely.  
  
After a while, Tidus and Wakka joined up with the others, but all of them were growing weary. There were just too many monsters.  
  
Movement from a balcony above the stadium caught their eye as Maester Seymour stepped forward. He motioned with his hands and the symbol for summoning an Aeon appeared on the ground below him. A large hook fell from the sky and plunged into the very center of the symbol. When it came back up, it dragged with it a huge monster. It was a few stories high, it's body wrapped in bandages and chains. Seymour didn't even have to utter one command. Immediately the creature began to howl, as if in pain, as its eyes began to glow and fiends around them everywhere instantly burst into small balls of light.  
  
Within mere seconds, every fiend in the stadium was dead. People just stared at Seymour in awe as he raised his arms in victory. Yuna looked at him, her face shining with respect.  
  
"What the hell was that?!" Yuri suddenly blurted out.  
  
"Maester Seymour can summon Aeons to," Yuna told him.  
  
"Auron!" Tidus shouted as he turned away from them and ran over to a man in a red coat.  
  
"That was unexpected," Yuri commented as he too turned away from Seymour. "Hey Yuna, wasn't that the guy you were looking for?"  
  
"Yes. I knew I had seen him in the crowds when we first arrived here in Luca," she answered as Tidus approached them, followed by the man called Auron.  
  
"He's the reason I'm here!" Tidus exclaimed. "I'm not sure how he did it, but he was there when Zanarkand was getting all blown up and stuff and then he pulled me into this big thing of light and then I was here!  
  
"Explain that again, a little slower this time," Wakka said, though not taking his eyes off of Auron. Wakka almost seemed to worship this man.  
  
"So who exactly are you, other than the guy the brought the blond kid here," Yuri asked, looking at him suspiciously.  
  
"Sir Auron accompanied my father on his pilgrimage as well," Yuna informed him.  
  
"I'm also the guy who brought you here as well," Auron said, looking directly at Yuri. Now everyone was shocked.  
  
"Wha? But I don't even know you!" Yuri said. "And what do you mean 'brought me here'? From Shanghai? So where exactly am I then?" Auron chuckled slightly.  
  
"You're in the future kid. It was either that or get consumed by a God."  
  
"Wait, you knew about that?"  
  
"Sir Auron, I don't understand. What is the purpose of bringing these boys here? And how did you travel to the past?" Lulu asked.  
  
"I will explain it all in time. For now, I have something to discuss with Tidus." He then motioned for Tidus to follow him as the two separated themselves from the group for a moment.  
  
"So . . . so it's true then. I'm really not in my time anymore," Yuri said. "That means Alice, Margarete, Zhuzhen . . . do you think he brought them here to?"  
  
"You could ask him," Wakka said encouragingly.  
  
"All of this just doesn't seem to fit somehow," Lulu said, deep in thought. When Auron and Tidus returned, Tidus' disposition had changed greatly. He hung his head and didn't say anything.  
  
"Sir Auron, I was thinking and . . . I was wondering if you would join my pilgrimage as my guardian, the same you did for my father," Yuna asked timidly. Auron looked at her, as if studying her before finally agreeing. Yuna looked very happy with this and Wakka and Lulu didn't seem to have any objections. While the others began talking about the events that just occurred, Tidus pulled Yuri aside.  
  
"So it looks like we are each here for a reason," he told him. "Although, Auron wouldn't tell me why you were here. What did he mean by 'it was either that or get consumed by a God'?"  
  
"Don't worry about it. What did he tell you?" Yuri asked, wondering about the sudden change in Tidus' mood.  
  
"Well, remember how I was telling you about my old man, Jecht? How he came here before?" Yuri nodded. "Well, apparently my old man . . . is Sin."  
  
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Author: I'm sorry, I must apologize for this chapter. I don't like it at all which is probably why it took me so long to update. I just couldn't get into it. Probably because it's such a boring, awkward part of the story. And I can't write fight scenes to save my life so just use your imagination during those. Also, I'm sorry if I'm not describing the fusion monsters very well. They're just so bizarre looking that I find it hard to find the right words. Other than that, review! 


	6. Chapter 6

A New Saviour  
  
Disclaimer: I own neither Final Fantasy nor Shadow Hearts and you know who does.  
  
Author's Note: First of all, thank you so much to Mako-Magic, Dragonheart7373, Skye, Palla, foxfire, Roc, ME, majin83, booyah, gigamesh, martius248, and Harakiri for the reviews! I'm so glad that people are actually enjoying the idea of this crossover. And from what I'm hearing, I'm rushing again. Sorry ^-^! I'll be extra careful with that from now on, but if I start doing it again be sure to tell me. It's this thing I've always had a problem with, but that's probably why I'm not a professional making millions of dollars. Yet. That last chapter was no good, I know. I mostly just wanted to get it out of the way 'cause I've got lots of ideas for later on. So hopefully the rest will be better. Thanks again guys! And I've decided I am going to include Amon as suggested. I've thought about it and I think I can fit him in, he just won't come right away. I was re-playing my Shadow Hearts (again) and I forgot how cool he was ^-^! Love that Demon Rays attack!  
  
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Chapter 6  
  
After the battle and the appearance of Auron, the group was ready to head to the temple at Djose. Of course, this meant that they would have to walk the long road to get there, which was simply crawling with fiends.  
  
"Take that!" Tidus yelled as he slashed through the last fiend. So far the fiends that had attacked them hadn't been very strong, so the group hadn't been having any trouble.  
  
"You're getting a lot better with that sword," Yuna praised as she smiled warmly at him. Tidus beamed, his cheeks growing a little pink. His mood had lightened slightly as they had continued their travels, yet Yuri could still tell that the whole Jecht-Sin thing was weighing heavily on his conscience.  
  
"I must admit, you are an adequate fighter," Lulu added. "I guess you will be more of a help than a hinder."  
  
"Was there ever any doubt?" Yuri asked. Lulu turned to him.  
  
"Yes there was. I had no idea if you two could even fight at all, let alone how good you are. Besides, you actually seem to enjoy it to an extent."  
  
"Well, I've been fighting all my life, I'm used to it. Thanks to that, I've changed from your ordinary bad boy type into a real psycho!" Lulu sighed and just shook her head. The whole time Auron had stayed silent, yet Yuri was becoming quite desperate to talk to the man. He had so many questions for him, starting with why he was here.  
  
"I'm hungry. How about a quick stop?" Wakka suggested. The others nodded their heads. Wakka was able to find some wooden boards nearby, most likely from a carriage. Lulu helped by casting a fire spell. Yuna brought out some provisions and began to cook. Yuri saw this as a good opportunity to finally talk to Auron.  
  
"So, you're the one who brought me here," he said, sitting down next to him. Auron didn't respond. "Come on Pops, I need to know! If you are the one that brought me here, then you can at least tell me why!" Auron glanced over at him at the 'Pops' comment, but still didn't say anything. "Alright, if you're gonna be that way, then you can at least tell me what happened to my friends!"  
  
"You mean the two girls and the Adept?"  
  
"Aha, so you can speak. So you know them? What happened?"  
  
"I don't know." Yuri practically fell over.  
  
"Whaddya mean you don't know! Tell me right now!"  
  
"You really need to control that temper of yours," Auron said simply. Yuri's eye twitched as he balled his hand into a fist. Before anymore could be said Yuna called them over to eat. Yuri reluctantly stood up and headed over to the fire. At that moment, a large, yellow bird darted by, with someone riding it.  
  
"What the Hell was that?!" Yuri asked as he watched the figure run down the road into the distance. "It looked like a giant, mutant chicken!"  
  
"That was a Chocobo. They're real fast and it's easier to avoid fiends if you're riding them," Wakka explained.  
  
"So Chocobos are just giant chickens?" Yuri asked.  
  
"What's a chicken?" Wakka asked him, sounding just as confused as Yuri.  
  
"Chickens are normal sized versions of that mutant that just ran by!"  
  
"That wasn't a mutant. Chocobos are always that size."  
  
"But chickens aren't! You asked me about chickens!"  
  
"Well, yeah, 'cause I already know about Chocobos." Yuri just threw up his hands and sat down to eat.  
  
"My head just exploded," Tidus commented. "I couldn't follow that at all."  
  
"Maybe renting some Chocobos would be a good idea," Yuna commented. "I mean, it would get us to Djose a lot faster."  
  
"That's a good idea. I think there's a place you can rent some a little farther down this road, at this inn/shop," Lulu informed them.  
  
"There's no way in Hell you're getting me on a chicken!" Yuri burst out.  
  
"We're not trying to," said Wakka, still confused. Yuna giggled. Kimahri didn't say a word, but still looked annoyed.  
  
Soon they packed up and continued down the long path, running into two Crusaders, Gata and Luzzu. They chatted with them a bit before continuing. They had almost reached the shop when a voice called out to Yuna. They turned to see a woman in a long blue and green robe. Yuna approached her.  
  
"Yes?" she asked. The woman smiled.  
  
"My name is Belgemie. I am a Summoner as well. I just had to introduce myself to High Summoner Braska's daughter."  
  
"Oh, it's nice to meet you," Yuna said politely.  
  
"I'm curious about your skills. What do you say to a battle- Aeon against Aeon?" Belgemie asked.  
  
"Ha, Yuna could wipe the floor with you!" Tidus exclaimed. Belgemie raised an eyebrow at him.  
  
"Really? Then maybe she can teach me a few things."  
  
"Okay, I accept," Yuna said. Belgemie smiled. The others stepped back as the two Summoners faced each other. Yuna summoned Valefor, patting the beast on the head before it took its position. Belgemie summoned Ifrit, a large, fiery beast with long, sharp horns and teeth. Yuna started out very well, using Valefor's Sonic Wing to slow down Ifrit's movements. But unfortunately, Belgemie's Ifrit was pushed into overdrive and unleashed its Meteor attack. Valefor fell to the ground and disappeared, although Yuna didn't look disappointed.  
  
"You did quite well, young Summoner," Belgemie praised her.  
  
"Thank you. Your skills are amazing," said Yuna.  
  
"I hope to see you again." And with that, Belgemie left.  
  
"That was interesting. I have a feeling that we haven't seen the last of her," Lulu commented as the group continued on, each having their own thoughts about the Summoner.  
  
After a lot more walking, and quite a few more attacks, the group could eventually see a small shop.  
  
"Wait a minute!" Wakka said, halting in his tracks. "That's an Al Bhed shop! You guys actually aren't thinking about staying here, are you?" No one answered him as he impatiently tapped his foot against the ground.  
  
"Why not?" Yuri asked. "Do you see anywhere else to sleep or buy stuff at?"  
  
"I'd rather sleep on the ground than in a place run by those . . . people!"  
  
"Okay, suit yourself. 'Night!" Yuri called over his shoulder as he headed inside. Wakka stubbornly crossed his arms in front of him and just stood there before Auron turned and told him to get inside. Wakka immediately did as he was told.  
  
The shop was pleasant enough. An Al Bhed man named Rin who sold them items such as potions ran it. After everyone replenished their stock of items, they sat down to enjoy a nice, hot meal, which Rin informed them was on the house.  
  
"It's not everyday we're visited by High Summoner Braska's daughter," he informed them. No one protested, a free meal was something they could all enjoy. Even Wakka was able to scarf down three helpings, despite the fact that it was Al Bhed food. Their bellies full, everyone began to retire to their rooms one by one.  
  
Yuri stumbled into the room that he would be sharing with Tidus and collapsed on the bed.  
  
"Man, it's been so long since I've eaten that well! I'm exhausted!" He quickly drifted off to sleep.  
  
*~*~*~*~  
  
He didn't end up sleeping as soundly as he would have liked because pretty soon he found himself in the graveyard.  
  
"Okay, this isn't funny anymore," he grumbled as he reluctantly headed towards the doors where the four masks floated. "Alright, what is it this time?" he asked flatly. "I was actually in a good mood before you idiots pulled this."  
  
"Charming as always," remarked Gold.  
  
"We have a new message for you," said Staff.  
  
"Yeah, yeah, get on with it. I'd like to get back to sleep." The masks glared. They definitely didn't like the fact that he didn't fear them.  
  
"Again, this message is only being passed on by us-" Grail started before Yuri interrupted him.  
  
"And I know you're not gonna tell me who it is because you're all a bunch of assholes. Get on with it!"  
  
"There is a creature you must conquer before true power can be passed on to you. One who is said to have control over life, death, and even karma," Sword began.  
  
"What do you mean? Like, another fusion monster?" Yuri asked, his curiosity aroused.  
  
"Yes. If you are not ready to conquer this soul, then you are definitely not ready to possess the ultimate power," Staff explained.  
  
"So it's like a test. Well, bring it on then!"  
  
"We will do no such thing. The one watching over you will decide when the time is right for you to battle this soul, for it is stronger then any of the monsters you currently possess," Gold said. Yuri hung his head.  
  
"So you're pretty much telling me what you told me before. I gotta get stronger, then fight this new fusion monster, then I get to find out who's doing all of this for me." Yuri turned to leave. "I guess I'll be back then," he said miserably.  
  
"Of course we will watch with interest," Grail said as Yuri began to walk away.  
  
"For it would give us no greater pleasure than to see you fail," Staff added. Yuri stopped.  
  
"What did you say?" he asked, turning. "What makes you think I'm gonna lose?"  
  
"We know the soul you are to battle. There is no way you can win. You can barely handle the monsters inside you now," Sword told him. That struck a nerve.  
  
"Excuse me?" Yuri began to grow angry.  
  
"We know of the fear and doubt in your mind every time you fuse. You fear the very being that you become. You fear that you will become swallowed by the darkness!" Gold said, chuckling.  
  
"You are afraid of yourself. You fear that the beings inside you will take over and you will destroy everything and everyone you hold dear!" said Grail.  
  
"Which is why you will never conquer this new beast! You will lose to your fear and die along with everything you care for because you are too weak to bear the dark fate of a Harmonixer!" Sword said.  
  
"Enough! Shut your stinkin' mask face!" Yuri yelled at them, balling his hands into fists.  
  
"You only become angry because you know what we say is true," Staff laughed.  
  
"Listen. I am not going to lose! Not to my monsters, not to whatever this new monster is, and especially not to you guys! I've got too much to fight for now to allow myself to even think about becoming that weak! You got that you bodiless freaks?" And with that, Yuri turned and stormed towards the entrance of the graveyard, trying his best to block out the cackling of the masks behind him.  
  
*~*~*~*~  
  
Yuri awoke still incredibly angry. One look out the window told him that it was still night, yet he didn't really feel like going back to sleep now. He glanced over at the bed opposite of him and noticed that it was empty. The sheets hadn't even been turned down.  
  
"Well, I can't sleep. Might as well try to find the blonde kid," he mumbled as he headed downstairs. Everything was quiet and he tried his best to tiptoe until he got outside. As he got to the front door of the inn he thought he could hear voices, though they were faint. "Maybe that's where the idiot is," Yuri said to himself as he walked outside. Yuri stopped and took a step back when he saw Tidus sitting in front of a fire. Yet he wasn't alone. Yuna was sitting near him and she seemed to be explaining something in great detail. He didn't want to interrupt the two of them, yet he really wanted to know what they were talking about.  
  
Yuri decided it would be best to leave them alone and waited inside for Tidus. He had to wait a little longer than expected because he ended up falling asleep at one of the tables.  
  
*~*~*~*~  
  
"Yuri. Wake up," came a female voice as a hand on his shoulder shook him awake. He sat up groggily to find Lulu's crimson eyes looking at him.  
  
"Huh? What time is it?" he asked, rubbing his eyes.  
  
"It's morning. Rin needs to open the store and he says it's bad for business if customers saw you snoozing at the tables," she informed him as he sat up. Yuri stretched and yawned, discovering his awkward sleeping position had left him very stiff and sore.  
  
"Okay then, I guess we can get some breakfast, rent us some chickens and be on our way, right?" Lulu shook her head.  
  
"There's a bit of a problem with the Chocobos."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Well, apparently there is some large fiend that's been terrorizing this area recently."  
  
" . . . And . . . ?" Lulu sighed.  
  
"A fiend that eats Chocobos," she explained. Yuri looked over and saw Rin talking to Yuna. The two seemed to be making some kind of deal. Wakka and Auron then entered the room. Wakka looked quite refreshed, whereas Auron looked quite the opposite.  
  
"Wow, that's the best night's sleep I've had since we started Yuna's Pilgramige! I slept like a baby," Wakka commented.  
  
"Not bad for an Al Bhed inn, is it?" Lulu asked him. Wakka frowned, remembering exactly where he was.  
  
"Auron man, you look terrible. Didn't you get any sleep?" Yuri asked.  
  
"Wakka snores. Loudly," he said simply. Wakka whistled innocently.  
  
"Hey, Yuna, what's happening?" he quickly asked when he saw her approach in an attempt to change the subject.  
  
"Rin has asked that we try to defeat this Chocobo eater. It's not only bad for business, but what about all the poor Chocobos in the area?" she told them.  
  
"Yuna, do we really have time for this?" Lulu asked.  
  
"Well, Rin said that if were able to, he'd let us rent the last few Chocobos he has for free, as long as they aren't eaten first." Lulu sighed before nodding her head in agreement.  
  
"Does anyone know where to look for it?" Wakka asked.  
  
"He says that it usually shows up when the sun begins to set," Yuna explained.  
"So I guess we're hanging out here for today?" Yuri asked. Yuna nodded. "Cool! Time for breakfast then!"  
  
*~*~*~*~  
  
After he had eaten, Yuri decided to explore the area a bit. So far they had been walking constantly and he hadn't really gotten a chance to stop and check out the new scenery. It was just so pure and untainted. Everything was so green and bright. The air felt fresher here and everything went at an easy-going pace. Of course, as long as you didn't think about Sin.  
  
"Not at all like home," Yuri said to himself. "Alice would have loved it here . . . " He thought about the young blonde girl he had met so long ago on that train. He didn't know her, yet a voice in his head had told him to protect her. And so he did. No questions asked. He hoped she was doing all right without him. "Margarete and Zhuzhen will take care of her," he said, mostly to reassure himself.  
  
Then a thought occurred to him. Was he jumping right into this journey because of Alice? He washes up on some strange beach in a foreign land and joins in a fight he knows absolutely nothing about. Not exactly what most would call a rational act. But Yuna reminded him so much of Alice, the girl he had promised himself that he would protect at all costs. Maybe this was his way of making up for that promise that he might not be able to keep. Maybe he was protecting Yuna in Alice's place. "Maybe . . . "  
  
"Hey Yuri!" Yuri turned, the voice breaking him away from his thoughts. He looked around, finding himself quite a ways from the inn. He had been so absorbed in his thoughts that he hadn't noticed how far he had walked. "What are you doing out here?" Tidus asked as he ran over to him.  
  
"I could ask you the same thing." Tidus rolled his eyes.  
  
"I was looking for you. I wanted to talk to you." Yuri smirked.  
  
"Does it have anything to do with your little midnight conversation with Yuna under the stars?" Yuri asked. Tidus' eyes widened.  
  
"You saw us?"  
  
"Yup. I didn't want to disturb you though, 'cause it looked like you two were quite involved with your conversation."  
  
"It's not what you think! She was explaining more about her Pilgramige, that's all." Tidus said quickly.  
  
"Uh huh. But you still enjoyed being with her, right?"  
  
"Well, yeah. She's just got so much on her shoulders that I want to help in any way I can and-"  
  
"You want to protect her at all costs," Yuri finished for him. Tidus nodded. "I've been there myself kid. So what'd she tell you?"  
  
"Well, apparently, Summoners defeat Sin by using something they call the final Aeon. Once they've prayed at all the temples and have all the other Aeons, they travel to Zanarkand where they get the final one. It kills Sin and there is peace for ten whole years," Tidus explained.  
  
"But, hold on, aren't you from Zanarkand?" Yuri asked.  
  
"Yeah, that's where I got lost to. I think the only thing I can do at this point is travel there with her and see it for myself. And who knows? By traveling the same road as my father, I might be able to learn more about how he ended up here."  
  
"I thought you hated him."  
  
"Yeah, I still do." Yuri sighed.  
  
"C'mon, let's head back." Tidus nodded and the two headed back to the inn in silence.  
  
*~*~*~*~  
  
A girl's scream from outside was what alerted them of the Chocobo eater's arrival. They had all been inside the inn, waiting impatiently for it to make an appearance. Now that the moment had arrived, they all quickly headed outside. They were greeted with a huge, armored monster standing only a few yards from the inn. Auron took one look at it and right away knew they were gonna have problems as Wakka unsuccessfully hurled his blitzball at it.  
  
"Those kind of attacks are not going to work!" Auron warned them. "Its armor is too thick! We have to try to get it off the edge of the cliff behind it and knock it into the sea!"  
  
"My Fire spells seem to weaken it, so I'll try to distract it while you and Kimahri use your attacks to push it back!" Lulu called to them.  
  
"I'll keep you guys at full strength! I won't let anything happen to you!" Yuna added.  
  
"What do you want me to do?" Tidus asked.  
  
"Keep us moving quickly," Auron said simply as he unleashed a Power Break on the monster. It howled as the blade struck him and swung at Auron, nearly knocking him off his feet. Kimahri was having the same problems.  
  
"What's he talking about?" Yuri asked Tidus, watching Lulu as she cast another fire spell on the creature, making sure to keep her distance. Tidus smiled knowingly.  
  
"Well, I know a few simple spells," Tidus said as he began to cast something on Auron. It took a minute, but suddenly Auron's speed seemed to double as he dodged the Eater's attacks and slashed at it with his sword. Tidus did the same for the others.  
  
All of a sudden one of the eater's arms collided with Kimahri and sent the Ronso flying. Yuna was right there with a cure spell to help him, but Auron was ready to re-think their strategy.  
  
"Wakka, even with a Haste spell, there are too many close calls! We need you to blind it so it won't be able to hurt us as much! Even with Yuna's spells, if we keep getting hit by that thing we won't survive!" he ordered as he dodged the Eater's arm. It went to attack him again and he almost didn't see it if Lulu hadn't cast another Fire spell in it's face, causing it to miss.  
  
Wakka's blitzball grew dark before he hurled it at the Eater. It screeched and began to thrash around blindly, not coming as close as it was previously with it's attacks.  
  
"Dude! What did you do?" asked Yuri.  
  
"I cast Darkness on it so it can't see us as easily," Wakka told him.  
  
"Can everyone use magic in this place?!"  
  
"Speaking of which, why haven't you fused yet? We sure could use it!" Tidus said as he re-cast Haste on Auron as it wore off.  
  
"Oh, yeah," Yuri said quietly. He knew it shouldn't bother him, but the words of the four masks floated back into his mind. What if they were right? What if he did lose control and wind up attacking his friends? Yuri looked over in time to see Auron receive a heavy blow. That answered his question. Following Lulu's example with the fire, Yuri clutched his head and transformed into his fire monster Forron. The monster stood six feet high with red skin that looked like rock. Its face was almost human, although it wore a look of complete superiority and cruelty. Two arms hung at its side while another two were crossed in front of its chest.  
  
Tidus turned and looked in time to see the change.  
  
"Whoa," he said quietly as the monster ran in to attack the Eater head on. This being Yuri's strongest monster physically, it was able to take the blows from the Eater with ease, it's rock-hard body barely feeling it. Auron looked at the monster and smiled inwardly. If this was what Yuri had already accomplished, then maybe his plan would work after all.  
  
Pretty soon the group was beginning to tire, even with Yuri using his fusion. Yet Auron had everything planned out. He had decided that they had gotten the Eater close enough to the edge.  
  
"I know you can understand me Yuri. Use your fire magic and finish it off," he commanded. The monster Forron stopped its barrage of punches on the Eater and looked in Auron's direction. It waited a second for Kimahri to get out of the way before spreading all it's arms in front of it. Flames formed in its hands and he thrust a fist into the ground. Directly in front of him a stone doorway began to emerge. It was elaborately decorated down the sides and a stone devil was perched on top, designed like the very gates of Hell. Then a rumbling could be heard as the doors slowly opened and flames began to pour out.  
  
Even though they were farther away, the group still had to step back even further because of the sheer heat emitted from the hellfire. The flames rushed at the Eater with a force strong enough to push it off the cliff while burning it. As soon as the doors disappeared, Yuri transformed back into himself.  
  
"Yeah, we did it!" Wakka cried. Instead of cheering with the rest of then, Yuri marched right over to Auron.  
  
"Okay Pops, you have some explaining to do."  
  
-----------  
  
Author: Sorry it took me so long to update, but I've been so busy with theatre and my computer's a piece of shit and kept dying, which is why I saved this story on a disk, which I then lost and it's just been chaos. Hopefully this chapter was an improvement over the last one. Anyway, I hope people are still interested in this story because no matter what I'm seeing it through 'till the end! I like this crossover idea too much to let it go and I have all these ideas for later on that I want to get out, like how I'm gonna add in a lot of the Shadow Hearts plot to mix with the FFX plot. So keep reading guys 'cause I'm gonna keep updating. Love you all ^-^! 


	7. Chapter 7

A New Saviour  
  
Disclaimer: I own neither Final Fantasy nor Shadow Hearts and you know who does.  
  
Author's Note: Whee, there are people who are still reading this! I'm glad. I was worried that it would've been forgotten since I took so long to update last time (which I apologize again for). So yeah, enjoy!  
  
I am sooo sorry that it took me so long to update. Well, it really wasn't me, I had this craptacular chap written a while ago, but for some reason ff wouldn't let me upload. I didn't give up on this, it was just a technical thing. Gomen -!  
  
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Chapter 7  
  
Everyone held their breath as Yuri marched right over to Auron, who seemed unfazed.  
  
"You have a lot of explaining to do and I would really like you to start now!" Yuri demanded. Auron's face didn't change as he turned to Yuna.  
  
"The monster is destroyed, we must continue on," he said simply as he began to head down the road.  
  
"Don't you turn your back on me!" Yuri yelled as he hurried over and blocked Auron's way. "Now I want answers! You've never seen me fuse before! How could you know about it? And how did you know about the abilities that my monster had? Talk!" Auron sighed.  
  
"Clearly you are not going to let this go. But I am afraid that if I told you now before you fully understand the ways of this time, it could jeopardize everything." Yuri couldn't believe what he was hearing.  
  
"Jeopardize everything? What exactly is it that you're planning? I'm sure everyone else here would like to be filled in as well! You don't just travel back in time and pluck someone out of their world without so much as an explanation!" The group hadn't seen the normally carefree Yuri so angry and serious before. Yet they were curious about Auron's response.  
  
"I'm sorry," was all Auron said. "But I promised that I would not tell you until you got stronger."  
  
"You promised? Promised who?" Yet Auron remained silent as he stepped around Yuri and continued on his way. Yuri balled his hands into fists as his whole body shook with anger.  
  
"I don't believe this," he hissed under his breath. The others were hesitant for a moment before silently following. Lulu stayed behind and placed a hand lightly on Yuri's shoulder.  
  
"I know this isn't what you want to hear right now, but I'm pretty sure Sir Auron has his reasons. If we continue on and you become stronger, he will tell you everything he knows. If there is one thing that Sir Auron is not, it's a liar." Yuri was still royally pissed at the lack of information that Auron had given him, but Lulu's words comforted him in a way. He let his hands drop to his sides.  
  
"I guess you're right. He's such a stubborn, old man that yelling at him isn't going to do any good, is it?" Lulu gave him a small smile.  
  
"That's right. Come on, let's catch up." She gave his shoulder a slight squeeze before following the others, with Yuri right behind her.  
  
The group trudged on through the night in silence. The tension between Auron and Yuri was still there and no one wanted to provoke an outburst by suggesting that they stop to rest or eat. As the first rays of the sun crept over the Highroad, the group was glad to see that they had come to the end of it.  
  
"What's going on? There are so many people here," Yuna said as she looked around at the many figures bustling around the gate.  
  
"They're crusaders," Wakka told her. "See? There's Gatta and Luzzu. Why they're here, though, I'm not sure."  
  
"Isn't that the Summoner we ran into before? The one who gave us such a hard time at Kilika temple?" Tidus asked as he referred to a scantily clad woman with dark skin and hair. She seemed to be in a heated discussion with one of the crusaders at the gate while her large, muscle-bound Guardian stood dumbly at her side.  
  
"Oh yeah, Dona," Wakka remarked.  
  
"Let's just ignore her," Yuri whispered as Dona stormed by them angrily.  
  
"I wonder what that was all about?" Yuna thought out loud as she headed over to the gate that lead to Mushroom Rock Road.  
  
"Please open the gate, we have a Pilgrimage to continue," Auron demanded as he joined Yuna.  
  
"I'm sorry, but only Crusaders may pass through here until our mission is over. Until that time, you may not go through."  
  
"How dare you stop a Summoner's Pilgrimage!" an angry Wakka almost yelled at the man.  
  
"I'm sorry sir, but orders are orders," was his only reply.  
  
"Why you-" Wakka began, but he was interrupted as Yuna touched his arm.  
  
"It's okay Wakka, we can wait or try another way," she said as she and Auron headed back to where Lulu, Yuri, Kimahri, and Tidus were waiting. Wakka gave the man one last glare before heading over as well.  
  
"So what's the story? Can we get through?" Tidus asked. Yuna shook her head.  
  
"They're not letting us through until they finish whatever it is that they're doing over there," Auron informed them.  
  
"So that means we need to find an alternate route. We can't afford to just stand around and wait," Lulu said. The others nodded and began to back track down the Highroad. It wasn't long before they ran into three figures standing in the middle of it, talking.  
  
"Hey, it's Mister Seymour," Yuri said as the three figures came into view.  
  
"Maester Seymour," Lulu corrected.  
  
"Yeah, that's what I said." Seymour saw them approach and a small smile appeared on his face when he saw Yuna. This small sign didn't go unnoticed by Tidus.  
  
"Lady Yuna, what a pleasure it is to see you again," he remarked coolly as he lifted her hand to his lips. Tidus glared at the blue-haired man and was about to say something when Yuri elbowed him in the ribs. Yuna smiled politely.  
  
"Maester Seymour, what brings you to the Mi'hen Highroad?" Wakka asked.  
  
"I was just on my way to give a speech to the Crusaders on Mushroom Rock Road," he replied.  
  
"What is it exactly that they're doing over there?" Lulu asked him. Seymour turned to face her.  
  
"That, my dear, is top secret," he said with a sly grin on his face. Yuri didn't like that one bit. But before anyone could say anything, Yuna spoke up.  
  
"Maester Seymour, I have a favour to ask."  
  
"Anything, Lady Yuna."  
  
"We need to get through to Mushroom Rock Road in order to continue my Pilgrimage. Is there any possibility that you could help us get through? They're only letting Crusaders through right now," she asked.  
  
"Why, I'd be delighted," Seymour said as he began to walk down the path that the group had just come from, the other two Guados right behind him.  
  
"Wow, good thinking Yuna. There's no way that they can say no to a Maester," Wakka praised her. Auron nodded.  
  
"Let's go then," he said. The group followed Seymour, who had no trouble whatsoever getting them through the gate. They followed him down Mushroom Rock Road and up some sort of movable platform until they reached a ridge that looked out over the water, dispatching any fiends that crossed their paths. Yuri was curious about why the Maester never lifted a finger during these encounters, but rather let his servants do all the work. He quickly dismissed this though, thinking that a Maester wouldn't trouble himself over such weak monsters.  
  
The Crusaders had set up some sort of makeshift camp along the ridge, where they were joined by a large group of Al Bhed people.  
  
"Wha- What are the Al Bhed doing here?!" Wakka asked angrily. He looked around, eyeing all the people and the machina that littered the grounds. His eyes stopped as he saw everyone gathered around Maester Seymour, who seemed to be giving the speech he told them about. Yuna, Auron, and Kimahri headed over to listen.  
  
"Alright, I give, why does he hate Al Bhed so much?" Tidus asked.  
  
"He already told us about how they betray the teachings or some shit, but he reacts to it almost personally," Yuri added. Lulu hung her head.  
  
"Chappu . . . was a member of the crusaders. He died in battle," she said softly. Yuri and Tidus weren't sure how to reply to this exactly. Wakka had never said much about his brother. "That sword you use," she continued, motioning to Tidus. "Wakka had given it to Chappu to take with him. Yet he left it in Besaid and fought with a machina weapon instead."  
  
"It has nothing to do with that!" Wakka yelled angrily. It seemed he had overheard them.  
  
"Then what?" Tidus asked.  
  
"For the longest time all Chappu could talk about was winning a tournament for Besaid. He said that once he did he was gonna marry Lulu!" Yuri's eyes widened as he looked over at her. She hung her head and had her back turned to them. They had been in love? "And then all of a sudden he decides to quit blitzball and join the Crusaders!" Wakka finished.  
  
"I'm afraid that was my fault," came a voice from behind them. They turned to see the Crusader Luzzu. Wakka turned on him. "I'm the one who encouraged your brother to join," Luzzu admitted. There was a sudden silence in the air, all eyes on Wakka, afraid of how he may react. For a moment, Wakka seemed frozen to the spot. Then all of a sudden his fist came flying at Luzzu's face. Yuri reacted immediately, holding Wakka back. By this time, Auron, Yuna, and Kimahri saw the commotion and hurried over.  
  
"I'm sorry Wakka, but Chappu really didn't need that much encouragement. He said that it was great to get to be with your girl, but keeping Sin away from her was more important." No one said a word. Luzzu hung his head. "I'm sorry, I must get ready." He began to walk away.  
  
"Wait." Wakka called after him. Luzzu turned. "Why didn't you say something before?"  
  
"He already told me, before we left Besaid," Lulu informed him. Wakka turned to her, a surprised look on his face. Luzzu chuckled.  
  
"She hit me to." Yuri smiled at that remark. That sounded like the Lulu he had gotten to know. Wakka just sighed.  
  
"Luzzu, please don't go!" Yuna suddenly spoke up.  
  
"I must."  
  
"What exactly is it that you guys are planning to do?" Tidus asked.  
  
"They have collected Sinspawn from all over Spira and gathered them here, hoping to draw Sin to them. Once they've lured it here they plan to blast it with machina," Auron explained. Luzzu nodded. A sad look washed over Yuna's face as she reluctantly stepped aside.  
  
"Be sure to come back safe!" Wakka called to Luzzu's retreating back.  
  
"Why? So you can hit me some more?"  
  
"Lots more!" Luzzu smiled as he walked away.  
  
"Why did you let him go, Yuna?" Tidus asked her. "I thought using machina wasn't the right way to defeat Sin."  
  
"Yeah, Wakka said it's against the teachings," Yuri added.  
  
"I know, but . . . I guess it's because I'm not really against this idea. No matter what method is used, they want to defeat Sin just as much as we do. They don't want to protect Spira any less. I think . . . I need to let him do what he needs to do." She replied.  
  
"Wait, so if the operation uses both machina and Al Bhed, then why is Maester Seymour here?" Wakka asked. "Why would a Maester support this?"  
  
"Maester Kinoc is here to," Auron informed them. "Yuna and I spoke to both of them before your little fight with Luzzu."  
  
"That's how we found out what this is," said Yuna.  
  
"It's called Operation Mi'ihen. They think that because Sin always returns to its spawns, if they gather them here Sin will be lured into a trap. Sin would have come anyway," Auron explained, looking directly at Tidus during that last comment. Tidus shifted uncomfortably.  
  
"Maester Kinoc is also one of the four Maesters of Yevon," Lulu told Yuri, noting the puzzled look on his face.  
  
"This place gets more confusing every minute," he grumbled.  
  
"Tell me about it," Tidus agreed. "First Machina is bad, then it's okay. Maesters are totally loyal to Yevon, yet they say it's okay to use machina anyway." Yuna smiled at the two.  
  
"Let's go," Auron said as he headed over to the edge of the ridge. The rest followed and looked down. There was an army of Crusaders waiting at the shoreline, most of them riding Chocobos. Along the edge of the ridge were many cannons, all pointing towards the sea. Yuri looked over at all the large cages that the Crusaders were assembling just in time to see a large Sinspawn burst out of one.  
  
"Look out!" he yelled as everyone turned in time to see the Sinspawn advancing on them.  
  
The monster was huge and snake-like with two large, armored arms ready to cover it's exposed belly. It's head swerved from side to side, and a sizzling, venomous substance dripped from its jaws.  
  
"We have to take it out!" Auron called to the group. Battle ready in seconds, the six guardians and their Summoner approached the enraged beast. Tidus immediately lunged for the Sinspawn's soft belly with his sword, but the fiend was faster than it appeared. Its arms covered itself right away. The armor was no match for Tidus' sword and he was merely bounced back.  
  
"If we have any chance of defeating it, we have to take out its arms first!" Wakka called to him.  
  
"Kimahri, you and I will go after its arms since our weapons are more effective against this type of thing," Auron instructed. "Tidus, you and Yuri wait to attack its stomach." Kimahri nodded at him, but before he got a chance to react, he was hit with a full spray of venom from the creatures' head. He was instantly knocked out and Yuna ran to his side to heal him.  
  
Lulu had been watching the creature's head carefully. It had begun to move suspiciously right before it hit Kimahri. She noticed that it was still for now.  
  
"Wakka, did you notice its head?" she called to him.  
  
"You mean the way it moved?"  
  
"It's too high up for the others to hit, but I think we can distract it before it hits anyone else with its venom!" Wakka nodded at her before aiming his blitzball at the fiend's head. Lulu cast her black magic spells, and sure enough the head stopped moving for a period of time.  
  
As soon as Kimahri was back in action he began to help Auron take out its arms. With their combined strength it didn't take them long. Tidus and Yuri now went for the creatures exposed stomach, sword and claws tearing into it. Auron and Kimahri took a few swings as well, with Wakka and Lulu keeping it's head occupied.  
  
Their team effort was enough to bring the fiend down quickly and it soon disappeared into a cloud of pyreflies.  
  
"We did it!" Yuna said happily. One of the Crusaders ran over to them.  
  
"I'm so sorry! The cage wasn't strong enough to hold it. Thank you so much for taking care of it!" he said to them.  
  
"Next time, you should think twice about what you're doing when handling something as dangerous as this!" Wakka snapped at him. The man apologized again. As he walked away, the group returned their gaze to the water. The large shadow that was growing under the surface did not go unseen.  
  
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Author: I'm sorry it took me so long to get this out. And I know that this chap was shorter and not as good as the rest, but at least it's something, right? Sorry, I'm just trying to figure some stuff out for later and Writer's block and work and all that fun stuff. Plus I wanted to break this scene up a bit so I figured I would end it here. Next one will be longer though, I promise. 


	8. Chapter 8

A New Saviour  
  
Disclaimer: I own neither Final Fantasy nor Shadow Hearts and you know who does.  
  
Author's Note: Alright then, I've tried my best to make up for that stupid chapter I posted previously. I'm sorry about that, it's just that I found the operation Mi'ihen thing to be one of the stupider parts of the game; therefore I really wasn't interested in writing about it. But that's all.  
  
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Chapter 7  
  
There was a stunned silence as the shadow rose from the water. Sin emerged, giving Yuri his first look at the giant monster. His eyes widened as his body involuntarily shivered. The waves of evil coming off of it were almost unbearable.  
  
Canons immediately went off, barraging Sin, causing it to drop thousands of Sinspawn into the water. They wasted no time in swimming towards the shore. The Chocobo Knights were ready as they rushed out to meet them. All the while, Yuri could hear the huge Machina just off the coast powering up. They didn't have much time to watch though, as the giant Sinspawn that the group had just defeated made a grand re-entrance.  
  
"Everyone, watch out!" Yuna cried as she rushed towards it. Auron accompanied her, and to everyone's surprise, so did Seymour. He calmly pulled out his staff and cast a number of black magic spells on the monster. Yuri watched in amazement.  
  
"Hey Lulu, those seem to be the same as yours, like with the elements. But why are his so strong?"  
  
"Maester Seymour is at a much higher level than I am. Therefore his spells are stronger." It couldn't even be called a real battle as the monster went down in a matter of minutes.  
  
That one small victory was not enough, however, as Sin unleashed a huge wave of energy, killing everyone and everything on the shore. That was when the giant Machina provided by the Al Bhed came into effect. It fired a huge laser directly at Sin. At first it seemed to be working as it almost penetrated the shield around Sin's body. But Sin countered it with another huge wave of energy, destroying the Machina. That was the last thing Yuri saw before he blacked out.  
  
Yuri awoke to find that he had somehow ended up on the beach accompanied by a splitting headache. He looked around for the others, but the thousands of bodies that littered the ground were the only things that greeted his sight. He sighed and stood up, a little overcome by what had just happened.  
  
"The situation here is a little more serious than I originally thought," he said to himself. "I guess I never fully realized how powerful this thing is. No wonder everyone seems so afraid. I guess that's why Yuna is so determined to defeat it." He scratched his head a minute, taking another long look around the area, where he finally spotted movement.  
  
On closer inspection, Yuri discovered that it was Yuna. She was doing the same dance that she had done in Kilika. The pyreflies floated from the corpses and danced with her. Yuri looked over and saw Tidus watching her.  
  
"Hey man, you okay?" Yuri asked as he approached him.  
  
"People die, and Yuna dances," Tidus said. "I found Gatta before. He said Luzzu didn't make it. I want to help them Yuri. I want to make sure that Yuna never has to do this dance again." Yuri nodded solemnly.  
  
"Let's make a promise right here then." Tidus turned to face him.  
  
"Like what?"  
  
"Even though this isn't our world or maybe not our time. Let's make this fight ours. Let's live up to the name Guardian and make our only goal to defeat Sin," Yuri said, holding out his hand. Tidus shook it.  
  
Once Yuna had finished with the sending, the three reunited with the others, along with Maester Kinoc and Maester Seymour.  
  
"Now I hope you can see what a hopeless waste of lives this was," Auron spat at Maester Kinoc. "Do you now realize that Summoners are our only hope of defeating Sin?" Kinoc remained silent while Maester Seymour approached Yuna.  
  
"Lady Yuna, Spira needs you now more than ever. You need to be the people's strength. And remember that you won't be doing this alone. Use me as your pillar of strength, just as Lady Yunalesca did with her Lord Zaon." Tidus glared at him as Yuna went a little pink across the cheeks. Then Seymour turned to the rest of the group. "Until we meet again." And with that, he headed off with Maester Kinoc.  
  
"There's something about him that rubs me the wrong way," Yuri grumbled.  
  
"I'm with you on that," Tidus added.  
  
"Ya, no kidding. I mean, a Maester working with the Al Bhed! And look where it got them!" Wakka said.  
  
"Come, we must continue with Yuna's Pilgrimage," said Auron as he began down the path. The others followed. Yuri watched as Tidus timidly approached Yuna and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. She gave him a small smile as they continued on towards Djose temple. Yuri lagged behind with Kimahri, watching the two.  
  
"After all that, she still smiles," Yuri said, mostly to himself.  
  
"Yuna must shine during dark times," came a deep voice. Yuri's mouth dropped open. He turned to Kimahri.  
  
"So you can speak!"  
  
"Kimahri will try to shine to." Yuri grinned at him.  
  
"Well, that means you have to smile along with her!" The corners of Kimahri's mouth lifted in what Yuri guessed was a smile. "That a boy! Come on, let's catch up!" Kimahri nodded as they jogged over to the others.  
  
Many new fiends made an appearance as they traveled down the long, dirt road. Yuri made the mistake of attacking a strange, moving plant that sprinkled him with pollen, making him fall asleep instantly. Lulu killed it in one shot with her fire magic before Yuna used her white magic to wake him up. Tidus and Wakka had a good laugh about that. There were also giant bugs, floating rocks that seemed to be made of lightning, and big basilisks that succeeded in petrifying Wakka and Kimahri at one point. Luckily Yuna was able to remove it.  
  
Eventually they reached a fork in the road. The sign pointed to the Moonflow down the left, and Djose Temple to the right.  
  
"So, we going to the temple?" Yuri asked.  
  
"Yes, I must pray to the Fayth at every temple in order to obtain the final Aeon," Yuna replied.  
  
"So then how long will it take to get to Zanarkand?" asked Tidus.  
  
"After we pray at the temple, we must cross the Moonflow to Guadosalam. Then we cross the Thunder Plaines to get to Macalania Temple," Lulu said, turning to him.  
  
"I guess we can't really skip all that, huh?" said Tidus. Yuna shook her head.  
  
"Come on, let's hurry. I'm starving!" Wakka said as he hurried the rest of them along. Tidus hung back with Auron a minute but Yuri didn't really give it any thought. He was looking forward to something to eat to. They followed a stone path towards a gigantic rock with a small inn beside it. Unfortunately they were all booked up at the moment due to the many injured Crusaders from Operation Mi'ihen. Although the group was able to get a small meal.  
  
"Wait a minute, I thought there was a temple here." Yuri looked up at the big rock when all of a sudden it broke apart, revealing the temple underneath. The rocks floated around the temple and as far as Yuri could tell they were held there by the bolts of lightning that ran between them.  
  
"Well, isn't that impressive!" Tidus remarked.  
  
"It only opens when a Summoner addresses the Fayth. That mean there's another Summoner already in there," Lulu informed them.  
  
"What if it's Dona?" Tidus asked. Yuri shuddered.  
  
"Please don't mention her."  
  
"Let's go," Auron said simply as he headed inside.  
  
"Is that all he ever says?" Yuri asked Lulu as they followed Auron inside the temple. Lulu turned to him and gave him a small smirk. Yuri grinned back at her. They got inside just in time to see three figures emerge from the Cloister of Trials. They introduced themselves as the Summoner Isaaru, and his two guardians, Maroda and Pacce, who also turned out to be his brothers. He talked to Yuna for a bit while Maroda approached the others.  
  
"Hey you guys, keep an extra close watch over your Summoner," he said.  
  
"Why, you threatening us?" Yuri asked heatedly. Wakka sighed.  
  
"Down boy," Lulu muttered. Maroda held up his hands in defense.  
  
"No, it's just that Summoners have been going missing lately. Like, going out on Pilgrimage's and then just disappearing," he warned them.  
  
"Oh," Yuri said, a little embarrassed.  
  
"Thanks for the tip," Tidus added. Maroda nodded before turning to his brothers.  
  
"We really must be going," he said. After wishing Yuna luck, the three left the temple as the group entered the Cloister of Trials.  
  
Everything seemed to surge with electricity as the group worked their way through. They finished and by now Yuri and Tidus knew the routine. Yuna would go in to pray to the Fayth while the rest would "Pick spot. Shut up. Wait," as Kimahri so eloquently put it.  
  
Just as Yuna exited, looking a little disheveled, a very unwelcome guest entered: Dona, followed by her Guardian Barthello.  
  
"Well, well, well, look who's here. Still traveling with quite the crowd I see," she remarked in her usual, snobbish tone. Before anyone could say anything, Barthello let out a little 'eep' as he rushed over to Auron, a look of complete amazement on his face. "Barthello, what are you doing? Do you know this riff raff?" Dona asked him. Barthello didn't answer her. "Barthello! Get back here!" she ordered. Again, Barthello didn't answer.  
  
"Can I shake your hand?" he timidly asked Auron. Auron chuckled and held out his hand, which Barthello eagerly took. Wakka laughed.  
  
"The man you just called 'riff raff' is Sir Auron. You know, the personal Guardian to High Summoner Braska?" he said to Dona, delighted to see the shocked look that crept onto her face.  
  
"Didn't you recognize him? And you call yourself a Summoner," Lulu remarked. Yuri laughed out loud.  
  
"Ha ha! Burn!" He exclaimed. Tidus laughed along with him and even Yuna giggled a bit.  
  
"You're my idol! You're the reason that I became a Guardian!" Barthello babbled on to Auron. Dona looked furious.  
  
"Barthello! We're leaving!" she barked at him as she stormed out of the room. Barthello reluctantly followed.  
  
Next, the group was ready to cross the Moonflow. Despite himself and the fact he didn't think it was too manly, Yuri commented on the beauty of the place.  
  
"It's kinda peaceful here, huh?" he commented, really to no one in particular.  
  
"It's even more beautiful at night. The pyreflies float over the lilies and the moonlight shimmers over the water," Lulu told him.  
  
"Sounds pretty romantic," Yuri said absent-mindedly. Lulu smiled slightly.  
  
"It is." Yuri looked over at her. He felt himself a little overcome by the moment.  
  
'_Looks like I'm getting all tingly inside. Maybe I should make a move. Hehe . . ._ ' he thought as he looked at Lulu. His thoughts were interrupted as Auron was once again telling them they had to continue on. Yuri's face fell as Lulu tore her gaze away from the lake and followed the others. Tidus looked at him.  
  
"Why do you look so down?"  
  
"Oh . . . I uh . . . just really wanted to see what it looked like at night . . . yup," he stammered.  
  
"Don't worry. Once Yuna finishes her Pilgrimage, we can all come back!" Tidus said happily. Yuri sighed.  
  
"I guess so." They followed the others only to be greeted by the sight of a large, blue monster that kind of resembled an elephant. "Oh man, just when I think I've got this place figured out," Yuri grumbled.  
  
"What exactly is that?" Tidus asked.  
  
"It's a Shoopuff," Auron explained. "We're going to ride it across the lake to get to Guadosalam." He chuckled. "When Jecht first saw one, he got scared and attacked it. He was so embarrassed that he vowed never to drink again."  
  
"Yeah, that sounds like my old man," Tidus said quietly. Once the Shoopuff was ready to go, they all climbed aboard and "set sail", in a manner of speaking. Yuri didn't like it one bit. Although it was different from the rocking motion of a boat, the movement of the Shoopuff wasn't the smoothest in the world. He laid across an entire bench and tried not to think about it.  
  
"Hey, take a look down there," Wakka suggested.  
  
"Don' wanna," Yuri mumbled as Tidus eagerly turned around and looked into the water.  
  
"Wow! It's sunken city!" Tidus exclaimed.  
  
"An ancient Machina city. Sunk one thousand years ago," Wakka told them. "Humans tried to play God by building it over the water."  
  
"Well, that obviously worked real well," Yuri grumbled sarcastically.  
  
"I don't get it. You guys always talk about how bad Machina is, and what's it's done in the past and how it so forbidden and all, yet you still use it," Tidus remarked.  
  
"That's true," Yuri agreed as he rolled over onto his side to face the others.  
  
"I mean, what about the Blitzball stadium?" Tidus asked.  
  
"Yevon decides which Machina we may use and which we may not," Lulu explained.  
  
"Well, there's a contradiction within itself."  
  
"Machina like the Blitz Sphere are fine. However, Machina used for war, like the ones used in Operation Mi'ihen, are forbidden," replied Lulu.  
  
"Oh."  
  
"That still doesn't make sense to me" said Tidus as he scratched his head.  
  
Suddenly, the Shoopuff shook, causing everyone to look around in alarm. Yuna stood up fearfully.  
  
"Sit down!" Auron ordered her, as the other Guardians stood up to protect their Summoner. Before she could, an Al Bhed man appeared behind her and dragged her into the water.  
  
"Yuna!" Tidus cried as he and Wakka dove in after her. The others waited on the Shoopuff, as they weren't the best swimmers. Tidus and Wakka, both Blitzball players, were a lot more accustomed to underwater battle. The others watched as they battled an underwater Machina, defeating it with some difficulty. They emerged victorious and were able to return Yuna safely.  
  
"What the Hell was that all about?!" Yuri exclaimed.  
  
"Those damn Al Bhed!" Wakka said furiously. "How dare they try to kidnap Yuna!" Tidus sat down beside her, a comforting arm around her shoulder. Being embarrassed didn't even cross his mind at this point, he was just glad that she was safe. Yuna didn't seem to mind either.  
  
"Maybe there's a connection between the Al Bhed and what Maroda told us," Lulu mused.  
  
"You mean about the Summoner's disappearing?" Yuri asked. She nodded. "You think the Al Bhed are kidnapping Summoners?"  
  
"Those rotten bastards!" Wakka growled, punching his fist into his other hand, which he then promptly shook with pain.  
  
"You okay?" Tidus asked. Wakka just growled some more.  
  
"This changes nothing. All we have to do is keep an extra close watch on Yuna," Auron said in a final tone, meaning that the subject was to be dropped. After that, everyone sat in silence, each one thinking about what could be going on and each having their own ideas.  
  
Yuri was the only one not thinking about the Al Bhed or the recent kidnapping attempt. He was thinking about how he could get stronger.  
  
'_It'll be the only way to protect Yuna if those crazy Al Bhed people try to nab her again. And I can only do that by mastering another fusion monster. Which means I'll have to trust that those stupid masks were being truthful about another monster for me to fight._' Yuri chuckled to himself in disbelief. '_Trust the masks? Did I just think that? Oh man . . . _' He sighed and looked out over the water. The opposite shore could now be seen.  
  
"Once we get to Guadosalam we can rest," Auron told everyone. "But that's all. We continue on tomorrow morning." Yuri thought about that. Maybe another visit with the four floating guardians wasn't far off.  
  
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Author: Well, there you have it. Another chap. Nothing to say really 'cept review!!! 


	9. Chapter 9

A New Saviour

Disclaimer: I own neither Final Fantasy nor Shadow Hearts and you know who does.

Author's Note: Wow! Thank you Dragonheart7373, Mako-Magic, Harakiri, Jckidsmart, Gen, shogunmaster, Anilia Hawkeye, The Hunter, SSJ Cisco, Dragon46, and Zero-Vision for the reviews. There have been some complaints about the story following the FFX plotline too much, but that won't be like that throughout the whole story. I'm just following it until I find a good spot to start adding in the Shadow Hearts plotline. Because let's face it, Yuri still needs to go crazy and try to kill himself. So please, if you hate the FFX plot, set your mind at ease.

Sorry about Rikku's rushed entrance, I just didn't want to linger on it too much 'cause it's really not that important. Rikku's great and everything, she was just never one of my favourite characters.

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Chapter 9

Once they hit shore, there was another winding path to follow through the forest. Yuri lagged behind a bit, lost in his own thoughts. He was thinking about what the masks had said about this new fusion monster. He just couldn't figure out what it could be, considering he already had six.

Every time Yuri mastered six of his monsters, the masks would try to pull a fast one on him and make him fight a stronger version of one of his existing monsters. He had defeated all they had thrown at him and now possessed six high-level fusion monsters: Earth, Fire, Water, Wind, Dark, and Light. What was left?

"Thinking hard about something?"

"Huh?" Yuri looked up to see Lulu.

"It's not like you to be so quiet," she commented, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Oh. Sorry. I've just been thinking about what happened with the Al Bhed and Yuna. I felt bad for not helping out."

"It's not your fault if you can't swim."

"No! It's not that . . . I just don't feel strong enough. Y'know, you got your magic, Yuna can summon her Aeons, Auron has his big ass sword . . . Wakka . . . well, he can throw a ball real good . . . I dunno, I just feel somewhat out of place," Yuri confessed.

"What do you mean? Your fusion monsters are incredible! You have their strength to add to your own," Lulu said, trying to reassure him.

"But that's the thing . . . it's still their strength. They still have a mind of their own."

"I don't understand."

"Well . . . " Yuri's mind was instantly flooded by the taunts and snickers from the four masks.

'_We know of the fear and doubt in your mind every time you fuse._'

'_You fear the very being that you become_.'

'_You fear that you will become swallowed by the darkness_.'

'_You fear that the beings inside you will take over and you will destroy everything and everyone you hold dear!_'

Yuri shook his head. "Never mind. Forget about it," he said, forcing a grin onto his face. Lulu didn't look convinced, but she didn't say anything. Up ahead, the others had stopped as Tidus stared at something near the shore of the Moonflow.

"Hey, there's a person here!" he called out. The others hurried over. A small, female figure was lying on her stomach, unconscious. Tidus knelt down and poked her in the shoulder. "You okay?" he asked. She stirred, slowly getting on her feet.

They couldn't see her face because she wore thick goggles and what looked like a wet suit. Blond hair poked out from the helmet she wore. She unzipped the wet suit, peeling it off to reveal short, green, ruffled shorts and an orange tank top. Off came the goggles and Tidus gave a little 'eep' of recognition.

"Whew! I thought I was done for back there!" She exclaimed. "That really hurt you big meanie!" she said as she smacked Tidus in the shoulder.

"Rikku?" he asked. She nodded. "That big machina that grabbed Yuna in the water was you?!" She nodded again.

"Rikku, is that you?" Yuna asked, stepping forward.

"Yunie!" Rikku cried, running over and throwing her arms around the other girl.

"Do they know each other? And how do you know her?" Yuri asked Tidus.

"She was on the ship that rescued me when I first came here. But then Sin appeared and I ended up in Besaid. I thought she was dead!" replied Tidus. Rikku said something to Yuna, who then beckoned over Lulu. The three separated themselves from the group.

"Sorry guys, girl talk!" Rikku said as the three began talking softly amongst themselves.

"What do they mean 'girl talk'? Why can't we know what's going on?" Wakka asked. Yuri shrugged. Auron remained silent, but his stiff posture revealed his annoyance with the interruption.

Yuri watched as Rikku talked, Yuna listened and then looked to Lulu for approval, who then nodded. The three headed back over to the guys.

"What was that all about?" asked Wakka.

"I would like Rikku to become my official Guardian," Yuna announced. Auron stepped towards Rikku, who seemed to be avoiding his gaze.

"Open you eyes," he instructed. Rikku slowly opened one. "As I thought," he said simply. Rikku's back had been facing the others, so they didn't really know what it was about. However, Auron was never one to explain himself. "Let's go. Guadosalam is just ahead," Auron said as he continued on.

Yuna smiled gratefully as they followed him. Tidus struck up a conversation with the hyper little girl that had just joined them. Probably to thank her for before or something.

Once they were through the forest, they came to what looked like a cave. As it turned out, this was the entrance to Guadosalam, which was entirely inside. The ground quickly turned to stone, and the air grew cooler as the group descended. Yuri's eyes widened as he looked around.

He was instantly hit with the memory of when he, Zhuzhen, Alice, and Margarete had to go through these trials when they were looking for the White Tiger Votive Picture. There were lots of winding pathways in the underground caves, much like how this looked. However, thinking of his friends depressed him so he decided to focus on what was different about this place.

There was doors built right into the rock, which Yuri assumed were the Guado's homes. They were colourfully decorated like the signs above the doors that led to the store and inn.

"Lady Yuna! So good of you to come!" said a Guado as he rushed over to greet them. Yuri looked at him strangely, until Lulu prodded him and quietly told him not to stare. "I am Tromell," the Guado continued. "Maester Seymour has asked me to invite you to his manor, as he has something very important to discuss with you."

"With me? Alright."

"Please, follow me."

"Seymour again?" Tidus growled under his breath. "Why can't he just leave us alone?" Yuri shrugged, slapping Tidus on the shoulder.

"Why? You jealous that he gives Yuna so much attention?" he asked teasingly. Tidus opened his mouth to protest, but Yuri's loud laugh cut him off. The group followed Yuna and Tromell into a mansion, located at the heart of Guadosalam.

They were greeted with a buffet of tasty food while they waited for Seymour.

"Hey Lulu, what's the deal with Seymour?" Yuri asked with a mouth full of food. Lulu just gave him a look, and he instantly swallowed.

"Why are you asking me?"

"I dunno, you just seem to know everything, whereas Tidus and I, well, don't." Lulu let out a quiet chuckle, which caused Yuri to grin. He really liked being able to make her laugh, although he didn't know why.

"What are you wondering about?"

"Why everyone thinks he's so great!" Tidus blurted out.

"Well, for one, not everyone thinks he's 'so great'. People respect him because he's a Maester," Lulu explained. "Originally, the Guado were not the most well-liked race in Spira. However, Maester Seymour's father, Lord Jyscal, was the one who helped unite the Guado and provide the people with a better understanding of them. He even took a human wife. So as you can see, Maester Seymour isn't even a full Guado."

"Huh," was all Yuri could say.

"In case you haven't noticed, there isn't a temple in Guadosalam. Summoners usually just pass right on through on their way to the Thunder Plains," Lulu added.

"Heh, nobody want to stop and visit the great Seymour?" Tidus asked sarcastically.

"Lord Seymour is the key to our salvation," came a voice from behind him. Tidus jumped and turned to see Tromell. "He is our future, for he is the one who will bring glory to the Guado."

"Um, sure, whatever you say buddy," Yuri said, not really sure what to make of the interruption. Not much else could be said, however, as Seymour finally decided to grace them with his presence.

"Lady Yuna, so good of you to come. Please, everyone follow me, I have something to show you," Seymour said, motioning for them to follow him.

"This had better be good. We're losing valuable travel time here," Tidus muttered.

"Shut up!" Wakka hissed at him. "We have a private audience with the Maester! How lucky are we, ya? So show some respect!" Tidus just huffed and followed them.

The group didn't have to walk far as soon they were surrounded by a hologram of what looked like a Machina City. Everyone stopped, their mouths open in wonder, as the city and its people swam around them.

"Zanarkand," Tidus muttered in awe.

"Zanarkand? Your Zanarkand?" Yuri loudly asked him.

"Yes, Zanarkand. As it appeared one thousand years ago," Seymour said, smiling slyly. "She once lived in this metropolis."

"She who?" Yuna asked. Seymour just smiled at her as the scene around them changed to a bedroom where a white-haired woman sat. Yuna gasped. "Lady Yunalesca!" she exclaimed.

"Who?" Yuri asked. Seymour looked at him, with considerably less warmth then what he showed Yuna.

"Lady Yunalesca, of course you know her?" he asked, giving a superior smirk in his direction. Yuri scowled at him. That's all it took to get him on board with Tidus in the Seymour-hating fan club.

"Lady Yunalesca was the first Summoner to call the final Aeon and defeat Sin," Yuna told him. "My father named me after her."

"Which brings me to the reason I asked you here," Seymour continued, raising his hand to the scene before them. A man had entered and had embraced Yunalesca. "Even the High Summoner could not have defeated Sin without the love and support from her lover, Lord Zaon," Seymour said as the image faded away.

Once it was gone, Seymour lowered his head to Yuna's ear, whispering something that was inaudible to the rest of them. All they saw was her shocked expression and the bright patch of scarlet that appeared on her face. Seymour just smiled coolly.

"What did he just say to her?" Tidus whispered angrily to Yuri. Rikku ran over to Yuna.

"What did he say? And why is your face so red?" Rikku asked her.

"He-he asked me to marry him," Yuna stuttered. Yuri immediately grabbed Tidus' shoulder in case he tried to kill Seymour.

"She has no time for marriage. She has a pilgrimage to continue," Auron told Seymour matter-of-factly. Seymour turned to him.

"I have no intention of stopping her pilgrimage," he stated. "Of course, you don't have to decide right away," he told Yuna. "Think it over." Seymour took her hand and kissed it.

"It's time to leave," Auron said coldly, turning his back to the group and heading for the door.

"May I ask why you're still here?" Seymour asked Auron's retreating back. Auron stopped, not turning around. No one seemed to notice his posture slightly stiffened, or that the hand on his sword tensed. "Forgive me. It's just that, we Guado are sensitive to the scent of the Farplane." Auron said nothing and continued out the door, everyone following him and exchanging puzzled looks.

Once outside of the mansion, everyone gathered around Yuna, eager to hear her decision.

"Wow, a marriage proposal from a Maester!" Wakka exclaimed.

"He actually wants to marry you?" Rikku asked Yuna. Kimahri just grunted.

"What are you going to say?" Tidus asked.

"I- I'm not sure yet. It would bring the people of Spira a lot of joy..." Yuna started, trailing off. Yuri approached Lulu, who had stayed on the outside of the circle, and had been very quiet since Seymour's announcement.

"So, what do you think about all this?" he asked her.

"It doesn't matter to me either way," Lulu said simply. "Marry, and bring joy to Spira. Defeat Sin and bring joy to Spira. Either way brings the same result. I'm sure that Yuna sees it that way to."

"Yeah, but, shouldn't you marry for love?" Lulu didn't answer at first, and for a moment Yuri thought he had struck a nerve.

"I want to talk with my father first before I decide anything," Yuna announced. The others nodded. Tidus and Yuri exchanged puzzled looks.

"Hey, isn't her dad, y'know, dead?" Before they even had a chance to ask, Lulu sighed and explained about the Farplane and the Pyreflies, how they hold the memories of the dead and project their image.

So the large group followed Yuna up to the entrance, where Auron and Rikku refused to go any farther. However, the ever-curious Yuri didn't hesitate as he followed them in. A wondrous sight greeted his eyes. It seemed as if they were on a platform that was floating in a huge nothingness of clouds. There were a few people scattered around its edge, talking to what looked like ghosts.

Yuri looked over and saw Wakka talking to a guy that looked a lot like him. He assumed that it was his brother, Chappu. Yuna and Tidus were standing in front of another couple, Yuna's parents. Then he saw Lulu, standing by herself just watching the others.

"Is there no one you want to see?" he asked. She shook her head. "Everyone I need is alive and with me," she answered.

"So, you can only see people who are...dead?" The thought creeped him out a little.

"Isn't there someone you'd like to see again? Your mother or father perhaps?" Lulu asked him.

"No, I-" Yuri stopped. "Actually, there is. What do I do?"

"Just think about them. If they've passed on, the Pyreflies will call up their image." Yuri thought about the three people he didn't want to see appear. Yet slowly, three images appeared before him. First, a girl in a blue, pleated skirt with a matching blouse and jacket. Her blonde hair was pulled back into two braids and held up in a large, blue bow. Secondly, an old man with a long gray braid, beard, and a monocle appeared. He wore formal red and black robes with flames embroidered on the sleeves.

"No..." Yuri whispered. Lastly, a woman appeared in a blue miniskirt, black, lace-up top, black fishnets, and a pinkish-gray trench coat. Her blonde hair was pulled into a high ponytail. The three floated in front of him, unmoving and expressionless. Yuri sank to his knees at the sight.

So it was true. It was all true. Until this point, Yuri still had some hope left. That this was all some crazy dream. Or maybe he was in another test. That he'd wake up and find himself back in his hotel room in Shanghai, and that everything would be okay. As unlikely as it seemed at times, he still had hope. Now, that all changed. Lulu had said it herself- only the dead will appear. If he was really in the far future, then they would've died by now. They would have grown old and passed on. The truth hit him like a punch to the stomach and for a moment he felt as if he couldn't breathe.

"Yuri? Are you okay?" Lulu asked him as she knelt by his side, placing a hand on his shoulder. He tried his best to stop his voice from shaking.

"I just didn't think they would appear. I wanted them to be alive. I thought that I could get back to my world and they would be there. Or they had been brought here with me, and I'd find them during Yuna's pilgrimage. But it all makes sense now. I believe what Auron told me now. I never said anything before, about not believing. I thought if I just went along with everything that it would all end eventually. But I guess I was wrong. They died a long time ago, because I really have been brought to the future."

Lulu, not knowing what to say, placed an arm around his shoulders and held him close, a gesture that surprised them both. She looked up at the three figures that Yuri had called up.

"So these are the friends that you've been looking for?' she asked softly. He nodded. "Yuri, I'm sorry." He didn't say anything, simply acknowledging her with a nod.

"Hey, you okay?" Wakka's voice broke the moment and the two stood up.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It just gets emotional, you know? Seeing your dead friends?" Yuri said, trying his best to laugh it off. Wakka nodded.

"I know how you feel. It's never easy to come here, for anyone," Wakka agreed. Yuna and Tidus approached them as well.

"I feel better now. Let's go," Yuna informed them. The others nodded and headed for the exit. Yuri turned towards the fading images of his friends, saying a silent goodbye to them before running to catch up.

As they exited, Yuri felt as if someone was following them. He turned and promptly fell over backwards in surprise. There was a Guado man trying to follow them out of the Farplane, only he resembled the images that the pyreflies conjured up. Only, instead of staying still, he was clawing and growling at them, desperately trying to reach them.

"What the Hell is that!" Yuri exclaimed.

"It's Lord Jyscal!" Lulu said, in an alarmed tone.

"Seymour's old man?" Tidus asked. "I thought he was dead!"

"Yuna, send him!" Auron commanded. Yuna stepped towards him and did as she was told. She waved her staff around and danced. Lord Jyscal faded into a cloud of pyreflies as Yuna sent him to the farplane for good.

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Author: Sorry about the long wait. I hope that this chapter was worth it. Now that Yuri has accepted his situation fully, we'll be seeing less of the FFX plot. I've followed it for now because he's pretty much just been along for the ride. Now that he knows he's stuck there, then we can see more of his ideas come through, and more of the Shadow Hearts plotline come into play. Luv you all, please review!!!


	10. Chapter 10

A New Saviour

Disclaimer: I own neither Final Fantasy nor Shadow Hearts and you know who does.

Author's Note: Yes, yes, I am alive. Let's see, it's only been, oh, 9 months or so since I've updated? Well, I guess that's not as bad as I originally thought it was. I dunno, I lost all inspiration for this until recently when I thought "What the Hell, I'll try to get out another chapter and see how that goes." Hopefully there are still some people who are interested. If not, well, I guess that's my fault . Anyways, I haven't played FFX in like, forever, so things are definitely going to start steering away from that. Like, do we really need to run into Seymour about four times after killing him? No, exactly. And since I've been playing Shadow Hearts Covenant like a maniac over and over, I'm a in a Shadow Hearts mood.

On that note, the SH:C plotline will not be entering into this fic, simply because the world was destroyed before it could happen. I'm not going to go into detail here as it will all be explained in the fic in time.

I'm gonna say this now: Screw the whole wedding thing. We don't need to fight Seymour a million times. Twice is enough for me thank you. I'm not rushing, I'm just eliminating FFX plot that really doesn't have a place here. I mean, it's a whole bunch of craziness that I really don't want to write about. I'll come up with something.

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Chapter 10

Everyone was a little shaken after what had just happened. Yuri wasn't really sure what to say, since he didn't fully understand the whole thing in the first place.

"Wh-what the Hell was that all about?" he asked finally, still staring wide-eyed at the place where Lord Jyscal had been standing only moments ago.

"The only reasonable answer is that Lord Jyscal died and was not sent," Lulu replied as she turned to walk away. Auron was busy ushering the others along as well.

"I don't understand how a man like Lord Jyscal could die and not be sent," Yuna commented quietly, her arm hanging limply at her side as she loosely gripped her staff.

"I believe that he was sent once…but he stayed on Spira. Something, a powerful emotion could have bound him to this world. Such things happen," Lulu said, giving Yuna a comforting look.

"That's against the rules, isn't it?" Rikku asked, a littler perplexed.

"It means he died an unclean death," Auron said simply as the group returned to the center of Guadosalam.

"So, umm, are we about done here? I'm gettin' kind of sick of this place," Yuri remarked, looking around. Yuna nodded at him as Auron and Kimahri lead the way to the exit.

"Aw man, that means we need to cross the Thunder Plains next," Rikku said, a little fearfully. Tidus and Yuri both turned to her, seeing as they were the only ones who didn't know what the heck she was talking about.

"Come again?" Tidus asked.

"The Thunder Plains," Rikku repeated. "There's always a constant thunder storm there. It's loud and scary and just plain bad. It just makes me really uncomfortable," she muttered, lowering her eyes to her feet as she mindlessly kicked at a pebble. Tidus and Yuri both looked at each other, exchanging confused looks. The group followed Auron out, until suddenly Yuna stopped.

"What is it?" Tidus asked as he turned back to face her.

"Shouldn't I talk to Maester Seymour before we go? I feel as though I need to give him an answer," she said softly.

"Oh," Tidus responded, equally quiet. Lulu shook her head.

"After we left to go visit the farplane, Maester Seymour left for Macalania temple," she explained. "I overheard it from Tromell." Yuri wasn't totally sure, but he thought that Yuna looked somewhat relieved and yet disappointed at the same time. However, he decided that it was nothing and shrugged it off.

"Oh, alright then. Let's go."

The Thunder Plains weren't nearly as eventful as Rikku had made them out to be. In fact, Yuri was actually somewhat disappointed. Yes, there were in fact storms raging across the entire length of the open plain. But there were lightning towers that stopped the lightning from even reaching the ground. And there wasn't any rain or wind or anything. Just a pitch black sky and a heck of a lot of noise.

Still, that seemed enough to terrify Rikku as she begged them to stop at the inn for the night. They did so reluctantly, seeing as the poor girl ducked and covered whenever a particularly loud crack of thunder sounded. Once they reached the small lodge, Yuna announced that she was tired and immediately retired to her room. It didn't take long for the rest to follow her example and head for their rooms as well. Pretty soon Yuri was left all alone in the lobby of the lodge.

He walked over to the table closest to the fireplace and sat down, thankful for a moment to finally sit down and just think. He stared at the crackling fire for a moment, losing himself in the dancing flames. His hand reached for his neck, absent-mindedly fiddling with the small pendant he wore, the talisman that used to collect the malice of monsters. Now, his whole adventure in Shanghai and the curse of the four masks seemed so long ago. And if Auron was telling the truth, then it really was a long time ago. As he continued to sit there, staring at the fire, his thoughts wandered to his father.

"Dad," Yuri muttered softly. "What would you do if you were me? You always had the right answer to everything…so please, tell me what to do…" He didn't need his father there to tell him what to do. He knew what his father would do. He would do whatever it took to get stronger and save Spira from Sin for good. Yuri let out a small chuckle. "I can't explain it dad, but it feels as if you're sitting right here, beside me, encouraging me. I know what you would do…but how do I get stronger? Is this new fusion monster really my only shot? I- I'm afraid dad…I'm actually afraid. Everyone I knew is dead, and I'm stuck in a fight that I'm not sure I can continue or escape…" Yuri placed his head into his hands, running his fingers through his hair. He knew what he had to do, and he was afraid to do it. But this thing was getting more serious by the minute. And if his small sacrifice could help everyone, then so be it.

As Yuri headed up to his room, he could hear a small scuffle down the hall.

"What do you think you're up to?" came a loud voice, which Yuri recognized as Wakkas. He turned the corner to find that Wakka had Tidus in a choke hold in front of Yuna's bedroom, whose door was wide open. Yuri shook his head, unable to suppress the sly grin that spread across his face.

"Aw man, you just couldn't control yourself anymore, could ya? Just had to make your move," he commented, as Tidus' face went completely red.

"It's not like that at all!" Tidus protested. "Yuna was acting funny, so I came to check on her, and she was watching a sphere with Seymour's old man on it!" Wakka and Yuri both turned to Yuna for an explanation.

"I was watching this sphere of his. It's his will," Yuna explained. "He's simply asking me to take care of his son." Tidus snorted in disgust at the mention of Seymour.

"I know one way I'd like to take care of him," he muttered angrily as he freed himself from Wakka's grip.

"Alright all of you, get to bed. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow, so better rest up," Wakka ordered. The three did as they were told, heading to their rooms.

The next morning went pretty much the same as the night before. Rikku squealing in fear at the sound of the thunder and Auron getting more and more agitated. Still, they pressed on, eager to continue the pilgrimage. Before they reached the end of the plains, Yuna stopped them, beckoning them over to a small shelter where they would be safe from the lightning.

"Everyone, I have something to tell you," she said after taking a deep breath.

"Here?" Lulu asked, a little dumbfounded. "Can't it wait until we're out of the storm?"

"No, I have to tell you now," Yuna insisted quite firmly. Once she was sure she had everyone's full attention, Yuna told them her decision. "I've decided to marry."

"Thought so," Lulu said, almost matter-of-factly. No one else said anything for a while.

"I want to assure you all that I will not quit my pilgrimage. But, this wedding will make people happy…it will help unite Spira. I think it is the best thing to do" After hearing this, Auron didn't seem like he was going to argue this and turned to leave.

"This is all because of that sphere, isn't it!" Tidus suddenly burst out. This caught Auron's attention.

"What sphere?" he asked, turning back around. "Show me."

"I-I can't," Yuna said, unable to meet his gaze. "I need to speak to Maester Seymour first…it's sort of a personal matter." This seemed to satisfy the guardian as he once again turned to go, signaling the end of the conversation.

"But why do you have to marry him?" Wakka asked her as they continued on. "Can't you just talk to him?" Yuna shook her head.

"I can't explain it now, I just believe that this is for the best." Yuri kept his mouth shut, thinking that it wasn't really any of his business. This was a personal record for him as well. Usually the more something wasn't his business, the more likely he was to comment on it. Still, the tension was high amongst the group after Yuna's announcement and he didn't wish to add to it. The look in Tidus' eyes alone could stop a fiend dead in its tracks. But soon they were out of the Thunder Plains and entering Macalania forest. Rikku let out a huge sigh of relief to be free from the storm.

The forest was indeed beautiful, and despite himself Yuri couldn't help but stop and pause a minute at its splendor. He just couldn't get over how drastically Spira's landscape kept changing from one area to another.

"We need to get to Macalania temple on the other side of this forest," Auron instructed them. "Just follow the path." They encountered quite a few fiends in these woods, disrupting its calm and serene appearance. These fiends seemed a lot stronger than ones previously fought, and took a lot longer to defeat. Seeing as how the group would become exhausted if they kept this pace, Yuri decided to fuse to help the battles go more quickly.

"Are you sure you want to?" Tidus called to him as he dodged a particularly nasty fire spell from a huge Chimera. The group was surrounded by them at this point. If they had to keep fighting battles like this, they wouldn't make it.

"It's okay, I'll be fine!" Yuri called before taking a few steps backwards.

"I thought it hurt too much, which is why you didn't fuse to fight fiends," Wakka called over his shoulder as he hurled his blitzball, casting darkness on a second chimera while Kimahri followed up, slashing at it with his lance.

"Don't worry about it!" Yuri said as he closed his eyes. Going through his mental checklist of monsters and, after selecting one, concentrated hard, allowing the monster to come forward. He clutched his head and screamed at the sudden burst of pain, which was followed by a bright light. As it faded, a large white and green werewolf stood in Yuri's place. Although, this wolf looked as if it had already died, as its fur was dirty and matted and a supernatural feel surrounded it. It narrowed its glowing red eyes, snarling at the chimeras. Before the others could do anything else, the wolf Lobo flung back its head and let out a long, eerie howl as it raised its arms above its head. In its outstretched paws formed a giant meteor, which it then proceeded to hurl at the chimeras. The impact took out all of them in one shot, much to the relief of the rest of the party.

Yet even though the battle was over, Yuri didn't turn back into himself. Instead, the wolf turned and began to trudge along the path that they had been following. A little confused, the group timidly followed. Auron hung back with Tidus, a small smirk playing on his lips as he watched Lobo from behind. The monster took out any fiends in their path in a flash, clearing the way. The entire time, Tidus went on about Yuna marrying Seymour, while everyone else just walked silently. Rikku just walked on in amazement, this being the first time that she had witnessed Yuri's powers. She kept her distance from Lobo, watching its back with wide eyes.

Once the group finally made it out of the woods, Yuri finally turned back into himself. He staggered a moment, almost losing his balance completely as he grabbed at a nearby tree for support.

"Holy crap," he muttered, still quite disoriented. Auron turned to him.

"What is it?" he asked. Yuri looked at him, squinting for a second, as if he didn't recognize him. Running a hand through his hair, Yuri finally replied.

"Oh, it's nothing. I've just never stayed in another form for so long before, that's all."

"How come?" Auron asked. Yuri felt like he was almost being interrogated.

"I dunno. Why does it matter? I just thought it would help us get through the forest easier since those monsters were pretty bad." Auron studied him for a moment.

"I see," was all he said before turning around and looking over the frozen lake before them.

"Brr, it's cold here," Tidus commented, rubbing his arm in an attempt to restore warmth.

"Well, there is snow on the ground," Rikku remarked sarcastically, rolling her eyes as she placed her hand on her hip. Tidus shot her a look, causing Yuna to let out a small giggle.

"My point was that it wasn't cold at all in the forest, which is only like, a few feet away. And now it's like we've stepped into the Antarctic," he explained.

"I'm with you on that one," Yuri said, pushing himself off from the tree, the effects his long fusion had left finally gone. Lulu watched him for a moment, a hint of concern in her eyes, yet she said nothing.

"Macalania temple isn't too far from here," Lulu explained. "We just need to cross the lake," she said as she pointed out across the land. Just then Wakka's stomach let out a lout growl. He placed his hand on it and looked up at everyone, a sheepish grin on his face.

"I guess I'm a little hungry," he said, giving an awkward chuckle. Auron let out a disapproving huff, but gestured over to the travel agency located at the edge of the frozen lake.

"We'll stop there for one hour. No longer," he said. Yet when they entered the travel agency, the met with an unexpected guest. The Guado Tromell was at the counter. His face lit up once he saw who the newcomers were and he instantly rushed over to them.

"Lady Yuna!" he exclaimed. "We've been expecting you. We were surprised that you decided to come so soon. Pleasantly surprised of course. Lord Seymour sends his apologies for having left without notice." Yuna shook her head, giving him a small smile.

"It's quite all right," she assured him. "I have one question, if I may sir."

"My lady?" Yuna took a breath.

"I want to keep journeying, even if I marry. Do you think that Maester Seymour would let me?" Tidus let out a little growl at Seymour's name, but Yuri quickly elbowed him in the ribs, warning him against saying anything further. Tromell smiled at her question.

"But of course, my lady! Lord Seymour wishes nothing else, I'm sure." Yuna bowed her head slightly to Tromell, relieved to hear this. She then turned to the rest of them, bowing her head again.

"Goodbye." Tidus opened his mouth to say something, yet Auron and Lulu both caught this in time to each give him a stern look. He promptly closed it again.

"Well, we must follow Guado tradition. I'll have to ask you to wait here a little longer. I'll send someone to escort you," Tromell said to the large group of guardians. Yuna looked back at him for a second, then back to her guardians. Auron gave her a small nod.

"We're all with you. Do as you will," he said. "We'll escort you outside."

"Thank you," Yuna said before turning and exiting the travel agency with Tromell. Auron then turned to Tidus before the rest of them followed.

"Sorry," was all he said. Tidus looked confused.

"Huh?"

"That was your line," Auron replied. Yuri let out a loud snort of laughter at Tidus' embarrassment. Tidus said nothing as he followed the others outside. There was transportation ready for Tromell and Yuna, yet the others had to wait around for their own way to Macalania temple. This was fine for Wakka as it gave him a chance to fill his belly. Little did they know that the next few hours at Macalania temple were not going to go as smoothly as they thought.

The rest of the group arrived at the temple not too long after Yuna had left them, yet when they got there she was no where to be found. After a bit of asking around, they discovered that she had entered the Cloister of Trials with Maester Seymour.

"So then what should we do?" Yuri asked upon hearing the news.

"What else can we do? We wait for them to finish," Wakka replied as he sat down, cross-legged. Rikku plopped down next him, leaning back on her hands. Auron found a wall nearby to lean against, while Kimarhi and Lulu seemed content with just standing. Tidus sat down initially, but only sat there for about five minutes, before getting up to stand, crossing his arms over his chest. Yuri watched as Tidus shifted from one foot to the other, and then tried shifting his hands to his pockets before beginning to pace a little.

"Man, would you calm down? You're making me nervous," Yuri remarked to him. Tidus stopped pacing and looked up at Yuri.

"I'm sorry, I can't help it. I mean, this whole wedding thing is really bugging me." Yuri rolled his eyes. It was really no secret to anyone that Tidus was developing feelings for Yuna.

"Dude, listen. If this is what she feels she needs to do, then I don't think you're gonna be able to change her mind."

"I know, I know. Auron already lectured me on this. I know she's not doing this because she loves him. It just, I dunno, feels wrong that whatever she's trying to accomplish with this she's trying to go about it alone, you know?" Yuri nodded. Then suddenly one of the temple workers, a young woman, came rushing out of the small room beside the entrance to the cloister of trials.

"Excuse me, Sir Auron? I found this sphere among Lady Yuna's belongings. It's a sphere of Lord Jyscal!" She said frantically as she went straight over to Auron and handed him the sphere. Without hesitating, Auron activated it. The whole group crowded around him to watch its contents. A figure of Lord Jyscal appeared and soon he began to speak.

"What I am about to tell you is the unclouded truth. I swear it on my honour as a Guado. Listen to me very carefully, for I shall tell you the truth about my son Seymour. His mind is closed, even to me, a maester of Yevon. But I can feel flames of darkness burning in his heart. He is using Yevon, the Guado, and even the summoners. If he is not stopped, he will surely bring destruction and chaos to Spira. I will leave this world soon, killed by my own son. But I do not fault him. Because I was not wise enough, he has suffered and become twisted. I could not protect him and his mother from the world and its cruelty. I will accept death as punishment for my deeds. But whoever is watching this, I implore you to stop Seymour! Stop my son." It was here that the recording ended. A stunned silence followed.

"Well, that's just great," Tidus muttered.

"So, wait a minute. That means Yuna is in the cloister with a murderer!" Yuri exclaimed. Tidus' head snapped up in alarm.

"Then let's go get her!" With that, Tidus headed straight for the stairs leading to the cloister of trials.

"Are you crazy? He's a maester! I'm sure Yuna is perfectly fine," Wakka protested. Although it sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than anyone else.

"Fine, then you can stay here," Yuri said to him as he raced up the steps

"Come on Wakka, let's at least hear him out," Lulu said as Auron, Rikku, and Kimahri rushed past her, following Tidus and Yuri. Wakka stood there for a minute before letting out an exaggerated huff and following them into the trials. They whipped through the trials faster than any of them thought was possible. It seemed they were able to think quicker with something like Yuna's life was at stake. Even Yuri surprised himself by solving a few parts of the maze. When they finally reached the end, they burst in to find Seymour waiting calmly…

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Author: And that's that for now. All I can say is, the next chapter is going to be so much better. I've already planned a bunch of events from here until the end, all of the heavy with SH plot. And get ready for the next part, 'cause a heavily anticipated guest will be making his appearance. Who is it? It's, oh I dunno, Amon maybe? And don't forget to review


	11. Chapter 11

A New Saviour

Disclaimer: I own neither Final Fantasy nor Shadow Hearts and you know who does.

Author's Note: Okay, I know that the last chapter wasn't a very good comeback after my little hiatus there, but I kind of had to get back into the groove, so to speak. So obviously that chap was gonna be a little crappy. Hopefully this one is better.

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Chapter 11

The group burst into the room to find Seymour waiting patiently for Yuna to return from the chamber of the fayth. Tidus wasted no time in drawing his sword and calling out to the maester.

"Seymour! Where's Yuna?" he demanded. Seymour just kind of looked at him for a moment, the smug smile never leaving his face.

"Please be silent. Lady Yuna prays to the fayth," he said coolly. At that moment, the door rose up and Yuna stumbled slightly out of the chamber, her eyes widening at the sight of her guardians.

"Yuna!" Tidus exclaimed, relieved to see that she was all right. Yuna looked from him to the rest before returning her gaze to Tidus, the question 'why?' written all over her face. "We saw Jyscal's sphere," Tidus explained to her. "We know everything."

"Yeah, you killed him, you son of a bitch!" Yuri said to Seymour, as he placed his claws in between his fingers. Yuri's outburst only caused Seymour's grin to widen.

"Yes, what of it? Lady Yuna, you knew of these things, yet you still came here with me. Why then?" he asked, directing his piercing gaze straight at the timid summoner.

"I came… I came to stop you!" she said bravely.

"I see. You came to punish me then," Seymour replied, unfazed. "And of course the rest of you must live by the Code of the Guardian. "Protect the summoner, even at the cost of one's life." How admirable. Well, since you're offering up your lives so freely, I have no choice but to take them." Yuri laughed out loud.

"Yeah, nice try with the standard bad guy speech. I don't think you know who you're messing with here," Yuri said as he lowered himself into a fighting stance, his fists held ready in front of him. By this time Yuna had ran to Tidus' side and was facing Seymour, her staff held ready.

"They may be my guardians, but they are also my friends. There is no way that I am going to just sit by and watch as you hurt them. I will fight you to!" she declared. Tidus gave her a quick sideways glance, an admiring smile gracing his lips. Seymour closed his eyes, holding his hands in front of him.

"So be it," was all he said as he pulled out his own magic staff. Wakka seemed to be the only one still unsure at this point.

"Maester Seymour…" he said quietly. "This can't be happening." Everyone was battle ready, completely ready to take him out. Yet this only seemed to amuse Seymour as he made the first move by sending a powerful fire spell Tidus' way. Tidus dodged it and ran straight for him, leaping and slashing at him with his sword. Yet some kind of invisible force field stopped his blade from reaching the maester. Seymour smirked at Tidus' shocked expression and with a wave of his hand sent him flying into a nearby wall. Kimahri tried this as well, charging at Seymour with his lance held out in front of him. The same thing happened and Kimahri soon joined Tidus at the side of the room.

Auron was charging up his blade, hoping that the added strength would somehow penetrate Seymour's shield. Alas, the same thing happened, yet Auron was able to get out of the way before Seymour could counter his attack. Seeing that physical attacks were not working, Lulu tried to cast a thunder spell on him, but to no avail.

"Yuna, you've got to do something about that shield or else we'll never defeat him!" Lulu cried out as she watched Rikku unsuccessfully hurl a grenade at Seymour, resulting in her being hit with a powerful blizzard spell, accompanied by Seymour's evil laughter. Yuna turned to Lulu and nodded, finishing up her cure spells on Tidus and Kimahri. She then faced Seymour and cast dispel on him. It looked as if something around him shattered. Wakka had hurled his blitzball at him just then, successfully nailing Seymour in the stomach.

"The shield is gone, but I don't think I did much damage," Wakka said fearfully as his blitzball flew back into his waiting arms.

"Hehehehe, as long as that shield is gone. That's all I need," Yuri said smirking as he looked over at Tidus. Tidus nodded and the both of them rushed at Seymour together. While Yuri ran at Seymour and aimed a high kick for his chest, Tidus charged from the opposite direction, creating a spinning motion with his sword. Seymour dodged the sword, yet ended up moving right into Yuri's attack. Angrily he thrust out his hand, sending Tidus flying away from him. This left him open, so Yuri jabbed out his elbow, hitting Seymour right in the ribs before Seymour sent him flying as well. Yet as soon as those two were out of the way, Kimahri and Auron we ready to take their place while Lulu was charging up a powerful demi spell.

As the group broke off for a moment to regroup Seymour took a step back, panting slightly. "You are better than I thought. Still, you are no match for my true power," he said, chuckling. He then raised his arms into the air. "Feel my pain! Come, Anima!" he called out. A wave of fear suddenly spread throughout the group as the mighty aeon Anima was called before them. Seymour laughed. "How quickly your confidence leaves you! Let us see if you can stand up to my aeon!"

"Come on, we can do this!" Wakka called out trying to sound brave.

"Yeah, we have to!" Rikku chimed in.

"Everyone, attack together!" Auron instructed as they began to advance on Anima. Yuri was right behind them until all of a sudden a sharp pain shot through his skull. Yuri fell to one knee, his hand grasping his head. He began to feel incredibly sleepy and found he didn't have the strength to stand anymore. He fell to the ground, his eyes slowly closing.

"No! Not…now…"

Yuri knew where he was going to wake up, but that didn't make it any easier as he practically ran to the large door that the four masks guarded. Of all the times to be brought to the graveyard, why now? What was happening with the battle? Whatever the reason was for his presence here, he was going to find out quickly and get back to the real world to help his friends.

"Yo! What the Hell is wrong with you guys? Why did you bring me here all of a sudden?" Yuri demanded. "I was a little busy, you know!"

"Yes, we know of the battle your friends fight," Gold remarked calmly.

"They will be fine without you…for now," Grail added.

"It is time for you to fight your own battle," Staff informed him.

"In order to prove your worth, we have a new creature for you to battle," Sword said. Yuri was confused for a moment until he remembered his last visit.

"Wait a minute. Is this about that new fusion monster? The one that's stronger than all the other ones I have now?" Suddenly a surge of excitement flowed through him. If he could acquire this new, stronger monster, then he would be able to get back and save everyone. Yuri cracked his knuckles. "Alright then, bring it on!" The masks laughed.

"Let us hope your guardian is right," Grail said with a chuckle.

"That you are strong enough to take on this new soul," Sword added. Yuri paid no attention to their snide remarks. He was too busy pumping himself up for the battle.

"And if you do not win, your soul will be condemned to remain here forever," Staff told him.

"Are you ready?" Gold finally asked. Yuri nodded. Soon a dark mist seeped into the graveyard, surrounding Yuri and the battlefield. He immediately held his fists in front of him, waiting for this new monster to appear. It stepped out of the darkness slowly, stopping a few meters away from him. This creature was unlike anything Yuri had ever seen before. It stood before him, completely straight and unmoving, its large wings spread out on either side of it. Its skin was like black armor, covering its entire body, even its face, where Yuri couldn't detect a mouth or nose. Instead, two glowing, red eyes stared out at him. The creature then raised one arm and held it across its chest, clearly displaying the long, sharp blade that protruded from its arm. Yuri wasn't quite sure about its next movement as it dipped its head forward slightly, its arm still held in front of it, yet Yuri was sure that the creature was bowing to him.

"Well then, let's do this," Yuri said as he prepared himself for a moment before finally clutching his head and fusing into the light angel, Sandalphon. His upper body resembled a man, yet His lower body just consisted of a long tail. Blue markings covered his body while golden rings surrounded his arms, shoulders, and tail. He hovered a few feet of the ground, strange-looking wings spread out from behind him. To the demon opposite of Sandalphon, this fusion had signaled the beginning of the battle and it wasted no time in charging at him. It drew one hand back into a fist as it flew at him, thrusting it forward just as it was in front of Sandalphon. The angel held up both of his hands in front of him, creating a kind of magical barrier, which the demon's fist connected with. Sandalphon was pushed back a bit, yet he still retained his barrier.

The demon abandoned this attack once it realized that it wasn't working and leapt back a ways, ready to attack again. Sandalphon lowered his hands in time to see the demon rushing at him once again. This monster was much faster than it looked as it slashed at Sandalphon with the blade on its arm and followed up quickly by trying to drive its long claws into Sandalphon's middle. The angel dodged the blade, and then held up his tail to stop the second assault, yet he left himself open from behind. The demon wasted no time in spinning around and hitting the angel square in the back, sending it flying forward into the ground. Sandalphon got up and turned in time to see the monster charging at him once again. Sandalphon moved to the side, allowing the creature to fly right past him and used this opportunity to land a powerful blow to the back of the demons neck. However, it seemed unfazed as it turned around and slashed out with the blade on its arm once again.

Sandalphon leapt back a bit, yet not quickly enough as the blade sliced him across the chest. He winced at the sudden sting, giving the demon another opportunity to attack. Before the angel could react, it suddenly felt five long claws embed themselves in his stomach. He cried out, yet didn't let the pain stop him from pushing himself off of the demon's claws and spinning around, his tail smacking the monster hard in the side of the head, causing it to fall to the side. Sandalphon then backed away a bit before raising his hands into the air and surrounding himself with a warm light. The wounds on his chest and stomach slowly disappeared, leaving the angel completely rejuvenated. However, the battle was beginning to take its toll on the demon, whose movements and attacks began to slow down, allowing Sandalphon more opportunities to land his attacks.

Finally, the angel had the demon backed into a corner. He raised his hands into the air once again, although this time a crystal filled with pure, holy light appeared above him. The crystal then broke open and this holy light rained down upon the demon, hissing like acid. The monster staggered a few moments before falling face first to the ground and disappearing. Sandalphon lowered itself to the ground, transforming back into Yuri. He fell to his knees, panting, as the soul of the demon entered his body. A huge wave of nausea spread over him, and Yuri couldn't help but feel that another small piece of himself had slipped away. "Wow, suddenly I feel awful," he grumbled as he slowly tried to stand.

"Congratulations on your victory," the Staff mask said. Yuri squinted through the black mist as it slowly cleared away, leaving him back in front of the four masks once again.

"The soul of Amon now belongs to you," Grail added.

"Amon," Yuri repeated softly. He could feel the increase in power as this new fusion soul coursed through his veins. He held out his hands in front of him and just stared for a few moments, as if he didn't recognize what he was looking at. Yuri then suddenly remembered the fight that he had been pulled away from and quickly sprinted towards the gate leading out of the graveyard.

A low moan escaped Yuri's lips as he slowly opened his eyes. Someone, most likely Yuna, must have moved him out of Anima's way because Yuri now found himself sitting against the wall off to the side. The group was still battling the mighty aeon while Seymour stood behind of it out of harms way, laughing maniacally. Yuri stood up and walked over to the battle, taking note of how tired everyone was becoming. They were losing the fight and they knew it. Lulu was the first to notice him as he almost casually walked over and stood directly in front of Anima.

"Yuri? What are you doing?" she called out to him. He didn't answer. Instead, he just turned to her and gave that familiar smirk of his before turning to the rest of the group.

"Everyone stand back. This thing is mine," he said, before turning back to Anima. Seymour merely laughed.

"I don't know what you think you alone can accomplish what the combined efforts of a summoner and six of her guardians couldn't," he said arrogantly. Yuri returned the laugh.

"Well, I just got a little power boost during my nap, which I think you might like to see," he said as he closed his eyes. The familiar pillar of light that followed Yuri's pained screams ensued, making the others know it was time to back off. The light faded, leaving the demon Amon in his place. Seymour's smile faded slightly as this power was unknown to him. Yet he was still confident that Anima could handle whatever this creature was.

"Go on Anima, show him the meaning of pain," Seymour commanded. Anima did as she was told, crying out and sending a powerful spell at Amon. It hit him square in the chest, yet Amon didn't even flinch. Instead, he merely stood there, which agitated Seymour. "Again!" he commanded. Anima repeated the attack, still to no avail. Seymour frowned and narrowed his eyes. "Again!" The result was the same. After a bit of this, Amon seemed to tire of the game and instead raised one arm over his head, circling it round his body, which he also did with the other arm. Both of his hands came to rest in front of his chest, palms facing each other. As he did this, a bright light appeared between his hands, which instantly shot out like a laser, hitting Anima right in the stomach. The aeon howled horribly as the beam shot directly through it, hitting Seymour in the process as well.

Amon walked forward through the cloud of pyreflies that Anima had left behind, not stopping until he stood a foot from Seymour. Seymour clutched the front of his robes from where he had been hit by the attack as he struggled to get to his feet.

"That power that defeated Anima…it will be mine!" he growled as he lifted his arm to attack. With lightning fast movement that no one could detect, Amon had Seymour's forearm in a vice-like grip. Seymour grit his teeth against the pain as Amon continued to squeeze his arm until the bone itself snapped. Seymour muffled his scream as he wrenched his arm away and took a few steps back. Everyone watched on with wide eyes. It seemed as though Amon was purposely trying to torture Seymour. Before, Yuri had always finished their enemies off as quickly as possible. Something definitely wasn't right here.

Seymour once again tried to attack as he pointed his staff at Amon, attempting to hit him with a spell. Amon knocked the staff away easily with a simple flick of his wrist and once again advanced on Seymour. Seymour backed away, tripping in the process and falling on his butt. Amon raised the arm with the blade on it and prepared to strike at Seymour, until Lulu cried out to him.

"Yuri, stop!" She ran up beside the demon so she could look up into its face. "He's already beaten. You're not about torturing people, so just let him be," she said softly, as the others slowly came over. Amon hesitated as it looked down into her crimson eyes. He then slowly lowered his arm and took a step back from Seymour. Lulu let out a silent sigh of relief as for a moment there she had feared for her own life as well.

"Lulu, look out!" Yuna suddenly cried as Auron rushed forward. Seymour had taken the opportunity to try and attack her from behind. Kimahri joined Auron in an attempt to stop him, yet Amon got there first. He slashed out with the blade on his arm and this time Seymour was down for good. Seymour let out a chuckle as he looked up at them. Yuna had stepped forward, remorse in her eyes.

"Yuna…you would pity me now?" he asked weakly before closing his eyes. There was a quick flash of light and Yuri returned to his own form. He shook his head and peered around the room, as if in a daze. Just at that moment, Tromell entered the room. He looked around at everyone, and then at Seymour's lifeless body on the ground in front of them.

"Lord Seymour! What happened here?" he demanded after his mind had processed everything.

"It's not our fault!" Tidus burst out before anyone else had a chance to respond.

"Yeah, Seymour struck first! He's the bad guy!" Yuri added in, who wasn't disoriented from his fusion anymore. Tromell looked at them, accusation written all over his face.

"You did this?" he hissed.

"Yuna, send him," Auron ordered before anymore could be said. He wanted to make sure that little detail was dealt with before anything else happened. Yuna held out her staff and stood in front of Seymour's body, only to be pushed away by a few Guado guards.

"You stay away from him, traitors!" Tromell cried out as he joined the rest of the Guado, who had lifted Seymour's body from the floor. Yuna was shocked at the term.

"Traitors?" she repeated quietly.

"We're finished," Wakka said upon hearing this.

"Now hold on a minute! Seymour's the bad guy, right? We'll explain what happened to everyone!" Tidus said desperately. Auron just shook his head at him.

"It won't be that easy…Let's get out of here," he said, nodding to Kimahri. The Ronso took his place beside his summoner, and with that the group took off out of there. They had to backtrack their way through the Cloister of Trials, slowing them down considerably. They thought they were making progress until they exited the trials and ran into Tromell once again along with a whole hoard of Guado.

"Wait…how…when…wait a second! How did he get here before us?" Yuri exclaimed, completely bewildered.

"Please, give us a chance to explain!" Yuna pleaded. Tromell shook his head.

"No need," he said coldly. "I already know what I'm going to tell the masters."

"So then you're saying that you're not going to let us go?" Yuri asked.

"Let you go? Lord Seymour would never forgive us if we did," he replied. Yuri snorted in disgust.

"That's bullshit!"

"Wait, wait!" Rikku suddenly piped up. "We can show them Jyscal's sphere!" she said hopefully.

"You mean this?" Tromell asked as he held it up.

"Where'd you get that?" Tidus asked angrily. Tromell said nothing as he dropped the sphere, where it hit the floor and shattered into a million pieces. Everyone's jaw practically hit the floor along with it.

"The Guado take care of Guado affairs," he said simply.

"Away!" Kimahri suddenly yelled as he took off out of the temple, the rest of the group right onto his heels.

"Make for Macalania Lake!" Auron commanded as they ran, the group of Guado soldiers pursuing them out of the temple. As they ran, Rikku pulled out a small communication device from her back pocket. She began yelling desperate commands into it in Al Bhed, leaving a very confused Wakka who was running beside her. As they made it outside and onto the frozen lake, a large Al Bhed aircraft could be seen approaching from the distance. Rikku let out a triumphant little whoop as a voice came out over the speakers of the ship. The group couldn't make out what he said, since it was in Al Bhed, yet as the ship landed, Rikku told everyone to get on. Most of the group boarded without question, although Wakka was a little hesitant.

"How did that ship know to come here? And how come you know how to speak Al Bhed?" he asked. Rikku let out a frustrated growl.

"Now is not the time!" she practically shrieked at him. "Just get on!" Wakka hesitated again, yet soon the Guado soldiers began to surround them, leaving him little choice but to board the Al Bhed craft. Once everyone was safe on board, the ship took off to the skies, leaving the scene and a group of very angry Guado behind.

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Author: There we go, lots of action and a new fusion monster. Yuri doesn't seem to be handling it to well, does he? I think my fight scenes are getting a little better, although I'm sure that I still suck at them. I didn't want to make them too long, cause then that would be boring, right? Hehehehe, anyways, hope you enjoyed it, and if you did don't forget to leave a review, telling me what you thought of it. Thanks, luv you all!


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